The Color Red
by DefyGravity2502
Summary: Katara always hated the color red. It symbolized so many bad things, fire, blood, death. But ever since a certain Fire Prince joined her group, her opinion has...changed? Stayed the same? Read to find out! Zuko/Katara, Zutara. NO FLAMES PLEASE.
1. Chapter 1

**Second Zutara fic...this is going to be a multi-chapter story, but I don't know how long...so read and review please!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The last airbender. If I did, there would certainly be more Zutara in there. Hell, the ending would probably be a Zutara version!**

**(Zutarians around the world: YEAH!! WHOOT WHOOT!)**

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She hated the color red.

It was the color of blood, of death.

It was the color of fire, the Fire Nation. The starters of the 100 year long war.

It was the color the moon had turned when one of the Koi fish had died at the North Pole.

The clothes she had had to wear to blend in the Fire Nation were red. They weren't uncomfortable and she liked the fashion, but they were _red_.

It was the color she hated the most.

_Red_.

It even sounded bad, sharp and leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

She hated the color red, until _he_ came. Zuko, exiled prince of the Fire Nation.

Heck, she hated it even more, if that was possible, when came to join their group, garbed in crimson robes. The color symbolized a new thing for her, betrayal. He betrayed her in Ba Sing Se, and she was absolutely sure he would betray them again.

She'd have dreams. Horrible nightmares, where Zuko would kill Aang, and laugh evily, and the last glimpse she always have would be of his red cloak slipping away as he escaped.

And thus she treated him horribly, giving him difficult chores, thinking if she made him work hard, he'd be too tired to betray them; insulting him; and even "accidentally" tripping him.

Of course, everyone was exasperated at her, and tried to convince her that Zuko was harmless. But she'd never fall for that again, she had seen the real him, she knew he was anything but harmless.

And, so, they always argued and had pointless fights, much to the frustration of the Gaang.

* * *

"You're doing it wrong!" Katara yelled at a hard-working Zuko. He was trying to do the laundry, at the "request" of the waterbender.

"Then what's the right way?" he asked calmly, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"You're supposed to wash it like _this_, not that frenzied scrubbing _you're_ doing." Katara took the brush from Zuko and scrubbed the shirt just the way he was doing. Zuko knew better than to point this out, though.

"Sorry." He said and held out his hand, waiting for Katara to return the brush. She did, more like rudely shoving it in his hand, and stomped away.

He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and went back to scrubbing.

* * *

Everyone sat around the fire, waiting to be served dinner. Tonight, Katara had made some kind of stew and she finally said, "All right everybody! Come and get it!"

Everyone scrambled into line, Sokka and Toph arguing about who was in front of who. Zuko was as hungry as everyone else, if not more so, but _somehow_, he ended up at the end. When he finally moved up to the front, Katara eyed him and said, "I thought you were too good to eat my cooking."

"I never said that!" Zuko protested. Katara's eyes flashed. "It's implied."

The group groaned. "Katara, give it up! When are you going to realize Sparky's changed?!" Toph yelled.

"Hey Zuko! You can share my stew!" Aang called. Katara ignored them, glaring at the firebender.

"I understand if you don't want to feed me, Katara. I'll just go out and find something for myself, " Zuko said and before Katara could retort, he turned and walked away. Everyone else muttered and grumbled, returning to their food. No one noticed Katara didn't take a bite of the stew, except for Zuko, who had been watching from afar.

* * *

Later that night, Katara noticed the decrease of ingredients, and so, when everyone had turned in, she went out to the forests beyond the temple to gather more. She was so intent on finding food, she didn't notice the other presence in the forest until she stumbled upon a small clearing.

"Z-Zuko? What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised at seeing the prince…cooking?

He glanced up at her. "Cooking something for myself. You're welcome to some if you want," he said. Katara was very hungry, and she had to admit, whatever it was Zuko was cooking smelled really good. However, she refused to accept food from her red-wearing enemy.

"More likely plotting against us," she said, but it didn't come out as bitterly as she meant it. _ It's probably because I'm tired and…hungry_, she thought. The teens sat in silence, until Zuko finished cooking what seemed to be stew as well, but meatier than the one Katara had served. He ladeled some out in a bowl and offered it to her.

She pushed it away, saying, "It's probably poisoned." Zuko sighed and rolled his eyes, guzzling it down like a starved person.

_He must be really hungry_, Katara thought with a twinge of guilt. It's true she didn't feed him as much as the others, but she didn't think it was this bad. No matter what her feelings toward the firebender, it was not in her nature to be cruel, and so, swallowing her pride, she muttered, "I'm sorry."

Zuko looked up in surprise, a little bit of stew dribbling down his chin. Katara resisted the urge to laugh, but he did look really funny.

"For what?" Zuko asked. Katara gulped; how was she supposed to respond? _For starving you?_

"For…acting the way I have…" she answered.

"I don't blame you for it. The last thing I deserve is forgiveness, after all I've done," he said, looking away. "I know I don't deserve forgiveness…but…I still want it," he whispered, hoping Katara hadn't heard that last bit. She did, but she didn't throw an insult or snide remark.

Instead, she changed the subject, asking, "Why didn't you share with Aang?" Zuko looked into her eyes when he replied, piercing gold meeting icy blue. "Aang is the avatar. If anyone needs to be well-fed and strong, it's him. Besides, you guys deserve the food more than me." Filling the bowl again, he offered to Katara. She refused again, but more reluctantly.

"Come on, you know you want it," He persuaded.

"I don't need anything from you!" Katara snapped, but eyed the bowl hungrily.

"Do you want yourself weakened on my account?" Zuko asked, holding the bowl out again.

_He has a point_, Katara thought, and this time she accepted the bowl and spoon. "What's in it?" she asked.

"Not poison," Zuko answered. "Some squirrel-rabbit and various spices." Katara nodded and took a tentative sip. She gasped. "It's…it's delicious!" she exclaimed and ate more heartily, gulping the stew down. Zuko watched her in surprise, and when she finished, said, "You don't eat as much as everyone else, either. Heck, you eat less than me!" Taking her bowl, he filled it up for her again, which she took gratefully.

"And?"

"Why?"

Katara shrugged, stirring the stew. "I'm like the mother of the group, and a good mother always makes sure her children are well-fed before she'll take a bite."

"Still, you should eat more," Zuko said, looking concerned. As he looked at her Katara's heart beat faster. The fire in between them was the only light nearby, and as the flames flickered, shadows flickered across Zuko's face, making him seem intimidating and…sexy.

_Well, fire is his element…_ Katara immediately mentally slapped herself for thinking such thoughts, but she couldn't deny their truth. And the two benders sat there for a few hours more, just talking, temporarily forgetting their differences.

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**First chapter of "The Color Red". Me hopes you like! REVIEW PLEASE. And if you have any requests, scenes you'd like to see, something you'd like one of the characters to say/do, DON'T HESITATE to tell me.**

**Review, review review review!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh. No. I don't even KNOW how to apologize for the long long delay. I just, wasn't inspired, and I know I say that all the time but it's true! If I'm not inspired and I just force myself to write, everyone just gets a crappy crappy story. So I hope this chapter is worth the wait! If people are still reading this….**

**Disclaimer: Bryke owns Avatar, but all the writers out there own their wondeeeful Zutara fanfics.**

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Over the next few days, Katara's attitude toward Zuko changed. Not a lot, but small, subtle changes that only Zuko and Toph could detect. Katara and Zuko fought less, and at mealtime, she wouldn't say anything to him. No insults or arguing, nothing. Zuko also noticed that she was feeding him more. Not like entire servings more, but more, like a few more spoonfuls.

The first time it happened, Zuko was sure it was a mistake, but neither of the two teens said anything. But when it happened again, and again, every day, Zuko began to half some hope. _Maybe things will actually work out… _he thought, smiling slightly and whispering a thank you to Katara, who had just filed his bowl to the brim with rice.

~*=~*=~*=~Next Day~*=~*=~*=~

"That's enough for today," Zuko said, letting his young and eager pupil know that the training session was finished. The airbender nodded, and used a cloth to wipe the sweat from his brow. Zuko held out his hand and Aang tossed it to him. After a few minutes, the two benders heard the sound of metal striking metal.

"Lunch time!" Katara's clear voice yelled from the courtyard where they ate, reaching all parts of the temple.

"Finally! I'm starving!" Aang literally _flew_ down to the courtyard, leaving Zuko alone. Grumbling, the Fire Prince ran down to join everyone else.

* * *

Today, Katara had made a nice and hearty stew—which smelled suspiciously like what Zuko had made for the two of them that one night, he noted—and for Aang, had graciously removed the meat from his bowl. Right after receiving his, Aang took a big sip, crying out when he burned his tongue.

He still managed to get out an "Mmm…this is really good!" giving a thumbs-up to the waterbender. She smiled, and returned to her task of ladling out stew for the rest of the group's hungry mouths. Zuko was last in line again, but he didn't notice; the line moved pretty quickly.

* * *

When it was Zuko's turn to be served, Katara noticed a few things. He was obviously very hungry; he hadn't bothered to put on a shirt. _NOT that anyone cared_, but Katara's heart rate elevated a little and she could feel heat creeping up from the base of her neck. Luckily, Zuko didn't seem to notice, so she ducked her head and quickly filled his bowl and handed it to him.

"Thank you," he said, and refrained from teasing her by asking just _where she had learned to make such delicious food_. Just because their fights had lessened didn't mean they were friends.

Yet.

Katara nodded to acknowledge his thanks and was about to put the lid of the pot back on, when a hand stopped her. The hand was connected to an arm, which attached to a shoulder. Which led someone's eyes to a lean chest, noting the muscles and sweat beads.

Katara immediately mentally slapped herself, and forced herself to look away from the firebender's chest and at his face.

"What do you want?" she asked, trying to put some ice in her voice and succeeding (hello? Waterbender, here). Zuko looked surprised, but recovered himself and said, "You should eat too," nodding at her empty bowl.

_Why is he asking me this?_ Katara thought, puzzled, but didn't let it show on her face. _He knows…_

"Not until everyone else is fed," she said coldly, trying very, very hard to keep her eyes from straying to his chest.

"There's plenty left! No one will _starve_," Zuko's intense gaze bore into her, daring her to say no. She grew angry at that, but somewhere, in the back of her mind, she wondered why he cared so much.

"Not until everyone else is fed," she repeated, narrowing her eyes. Zuko sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Agni, why was she so stubborn?_

"What if we're ambushed and attacked? You'll need your strength, and you won't fight very well if you're hungry." There. She had to see reason now, or she was crazy.

Katara paused, he did have a good point. Her pride would be very wounded if she couldn't hold her own in a fight. But it was her pride that wouldn't let the prince know he had persuaded her. She'd eat later, when everyone else was busy. While she was coming up with all of this, a sudden movement caught her eye, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"What are you doing?" she asked the firebender, an edge to her voice.

"Isn't it obvious? Here, eat," Zuko had ladled out some stew into Katara's bowl, and now he held it out to her, along with her spoon. She scowled and opened her mouth to retort, but he spoke before she could.

"Do you _want_ to make a scene?! Just eat the freaking food!" He growled and glared, taking Katara by surprise. Her scowl deepened and she took the bowl, but on the inside she was confused. What was his problem? And why did he care whether she was well-fed or not?

_It's probably a trap_, she thought, furiously chewing the pieces of rabbit-squirrel meat. _ He's trying to make me let down my guard, pretending he actually gives a crap about me, and when I least expect it, he'll backstab and betray us. Betray me._

Audience: *facepalm*

**Author: This is a Zutara story peoples, don't worry, Katara will come around sometime, but for now I need to keep her in character.**

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Zuko, sitting across from the waterbender, gave her a quick glance and was surprised in her change in attitude. _And things had started to look up_, he thought regretfully.

He knew she didn't trust him, and he also knew why. But what he didn't know was how to win back her trust and acceptance. Everyone else did, they could tell he'd changed and see that he honestly just wanted to teach the Avatar firebending and that he meant no harm to the Gaang. So why couldn't she? He puzzled over this all through lunch, and he was so deep in thought, he hadn't noticed everyone else had finished. It was now just him, Katara, and a bunch of dirty dishes.

"Aren't you going to eat your food?" Katara's bitter voice pulled Zuko out of his thoughts. He looked at her, and took a sip. It was…nice. She hadn't duplicated his entirely, left out a spice or two, but it was good. It had cooled down in the amount of time he had spent thinking, so he sent a little warmth through his hands and soon the bowl was steaming again.

Katara washed the dishes as he ate, and once or twice he could see her wipe her sweaty forehead and utter a small sigh. When he finished his bowl, he was satisfied and walked up to Katara and her big basin of water. She looked up and held out her hand; he gave her his spoon and bowl.

"Do you want any help?" he asked. Katara shook her head and went back to the ladle she was cleaning. Zuko looked. Katara was surrounded by dishes, and the pile of clean ones was growing s-l-o-w-l-y.

When he didn't leave, Katara stood up, about to ask him what he was still doing, when her foot caught in the leg of the small stool she was sitting on and she tripped, heading face first into the large basin. Before she could even make a sound, she was yanked back, held steady by a pair of strong arms as she regained her footing.

"Are you suuuuuuuuuure you don't need any help?" Zuko asked, smirking. Katara gave a frustrated groan and sent a wave of dirty dish water at the firebender.

"Ok, ok! Jeez, you didn't have to get me all wet," the soaked, half-naked prince muttered. He shook his hair and walked to find a towel. Katara, on the other hand, was secretly enjoying the view and mentally kicking herself for it. Her eyes fell on the empty basin.

_Oh darn, now I have to refill it again!_

~*=~*=~*=~Evening~*=~*=~*=~

Zuko stood in knee-deep water, shirtless, his pants rolled up, and for the bazillionth time, he was regretting burning Toph's feet. See, that was the reason for his suffering.

Toph had forgiven him a while ago, but she wouldn't be Toph if she didn't make him miserable for a few weeks.

So, back to Zuko. Toph had presented him with the task of catching fish.

Fish.

Of all the things in the world, she wanted fish. She had already eaten dinner too!

He was fine at catching rabbit-squirrels, kangaroo-mice, and other game, but no, Toph wanted to eat fish.

The slippery little devils were just taunting him. He'd 'sneak up' and they'd pretend not to notice him, and just when he would lunge forward to grab one, they would dart away, and a minute later they returned with—Zuko _swore_ this was true—little smirks on their faces. And his guilt and pride wouldn't let him return empty-handed.

He scowled, and narrowed his eyes. He'd catch some fish if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

Half an hour later, he was still trying—and epic failing—to catch some fish.

_They'll get tired eventually_, he kept repeating to himself.

Poor Zuko.

His eye fell on a different, larger fish, that hadn't been part of the group teasing him. It was faced the other way, and didn't appear to have noticed Zuko. An evil grin spread across the firebender's face. The fish was just an arm's reach away; all Zuko had to do was grab it. He bent down slowly, while extending his arms. Just as he was about to reach out and snatch the fish, a loud giggle made him lose his concentration, and he fell forward, face first into the water.

Swearing to himself, he stood up and looked to see what had distracted him. His eyes fell on Katara and Aang, who had come out to the lake to practice water bending.

The boy was also shirtless and Katara was in her white—Zuko: *gulp*—underwear. She was laughing at Aang's pathetic attempt to juggle some water balls. He could do five, but when he tried six, he lost control of the previous five and they'd all come down on the boy, bursting and soaking him.

Eventually, the kid gave up, and he and Katara went back to serious bending, engaging in a mock-battle. As Zuko watched, all he could think of was how water _was_ Katara's element. It was a part of who she was, and it made her seem even more beautiful (if that was possible). Fish forgotten for the moment, he was content to watch Katara as she defended and attacked, teaching the Avatar new moves as she did. Her actions were graceful; she _flowed_ with the water, and her fighting stances varied greatly, but all came down to one thing: bending the water.

Zuko didn't know how long he stood, watching them, but suddenly Katara and Aang stopped, bowed to each other, and Aang left, leaving Katara alone. Zuko wanted to continue watching, half-hoping she'd start waterbending again, but Toph's "request" resurfaces in his mind, and regretfully he returned to his impossible chore.

Soon, he became cold and, his pride still not letting him to return, used his firebending to raise his body temperature slightly before returning it to normal. Well, normal for firebenders, anyway.

After nearly drowning himself for the millionth time, he gave a frustrated groan.

"What the _heck_ are you doing?" a voice asked in disbelief.

Zuko's brain, which surprising, could still comprehend fairly well even after the cold waters of the lake, recognized the voice as Katara's. He also acknowledged the fact that he was in knee deep freaking _water_, and she was a _waterbending_ master, so thus he was greatly overpowered should she be in a bad mood and decide to take her frustration out on him.

Gulping slightly, he turned around, and to his relief, she just looked surprised, with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh…catching fish."

Katara snorted. "_Really_. Where's your so-called 'catch'?"

Zuko flushed. "In the…water. Yeah, see, I keep them in the…" he trailed off, about to smack himself on the forehead for such a LAME answer. "How did you know I was here?" he asked, trying to change the topic after he saw Katara's reaction to his lame excuse.

"You're splashing around like a giant koi fish, how could _anyone_ not know you were here?" she said. Zuko rolled his eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me!" she shrieked, in a voice too high and too thick. Zuko blinked and suddenly he couldn't feel the lower half of his body. His eyes widened. Katara was freezing the water around him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he WANTED to yell (of course he didn't), but his eyes connected with hers and he saw the unshed tears. So instead, he said nothing and used his firebending to melt the ice and break free. As he did so, his eyes locked on hers the entire time, he noticed the water in them threatening to overflow. He also saw the apology in them, reluctant, but there all the same.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly. Katara just shook her head and turned around, furiously wiping at her eyes. Zuko waited. After a while it became clear she wasn't going to say anything, so he went back to his pitiful attempts to catch fish.

"You're doing it wrong." Katara's hoarse voice said softly.

_No really? Is _that_ why I still haven't caught anything? _

Zuko held his tongue and waited. Katara came over to him. "You're splashing and moving the water too much, the fish can feel the movements. Try not to move so much and be quicker," she instructed.

"How do you know?" Zuko asked and when he saw Katara's look, quickly added, "I mean, wouldn't it be easier to just, waterbend them out? Sokka told me--"

"YES! SOKKA _told_ YOU! He _talked_ to _you_ about me! He _TRUSTS_ you! Just like everyone else! It's like, _to be friends with you_ is more important than _paying attention to me_! Don't tell me you haven't noticed, the bright grins in your direction and the slight nods in mine!" she cried, her unshed tears falling. Zuko was taken aback, and his shock clearly showed on his face.

"Oh, don't pretend. _Pretending_—that's what you're all about, isn't it? Like an _actor_," she spat the word 'actor' out like poison, "Were you ever an actor, by any chance?" she asked sarcastically. Zuko opened his mouth.

"Don't say anything. Your voice makes me sick." And with that, Katara slumped down, back to the firebender, and started sobbing, her head resting on her knees.

Zuko felt terrible. Angrily, he berated himself for ever thinking that Katara would forgive him. Swallowing, he stepped forward, resting his hand on her shoulder.

He didn't even have the first syllable of her name out when he was flung back, though he hadn't felt Katara shove him.

"Don't touch me," she said, her voice shrill, but deep and threatening at the same time. Zuko couldn't speak.

Literally.

He couldn't move either. His eyes wide, he remembered something his uncle had told him, that few waterbenders could bend the water, the _blood_, inside a human body.

He could only stare at Katara's face, streaked with angry tears. He saw her close her eyes close and her hands squeeze an invisible throat.

Suddenly, he couldn't breathe. His eyes widened even more as he tried to fight, to move, to breathe.

But he couldn't and he went unconscious, just missing Katara's look of shock and dismay.

* * *

Through her anger, the rational part of her mind started screaming at her, until Katara realized with horror what she was doing.

She could _feel_. She could _feel_ Zuko's pulse growing weaker and weaker, and with a gasp, released her hold, running forward at the same time to catch Zuko's falling body. Stumbling with his weight, Katara managed to set him down gently on the ground right by the lake.

She knew what she had to do. Healing wouldn't help get air into his lungs.

With a deep breath she leaned over him, pinched his nose, and breathed into his mouth.

The funny thing was his lips weren't cold like she expected them to be after…what she had done.

_They were warm._

When he didn't respond, she thought her heart stopped. _No, Yue, please no…_

She tried again, and this time, Zuko jerked and gasped, taking in deep breaths and opening his eyes to see Katara leaning anxiously over him. As soon as she saw the amber of his eyes, she started apologizing breathlessly, afraid he wouldn't know how sorry she was.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, it-it's just been stressful for me today, and--" she was stopped by Zuko's finger on her lips. Her eyes widened, but she didn't do anything. Zuko sat up, slowly, and Katara helped him lean against the tree. They sat in silence for a while and Katara was the one to break it.

"You…you think I'm a monster, don't you?"

Zuko looked at her with surprise. "Katara, you're one of the gentlest people I know. The day you become a monster will be the day my father surrenders, begs on his knees for mercy, donates the Fire Palace to charity, and disowns Azula."

"But…_bloodbending_…"

"…can be useful. What about for healing?" Katara thought for a moment and offered Zuko a small smile. They sat in silence for a while more, but Zuko could tell he still hadn't made her feel better. An idea popped into his head.

He stood up, and created half a dozen fireballs, each about the size of his palm, and used his bending to juggle them around, moving them in erratic patterns. They flashed and flared, winked and twinkled, lighting up the night.

Katara smiled, and even offered a small giggle. "Thanks," she said. Zuko nodded and sat back down, but his time it was Katara who got up. She waded into the lake and the prince watched with curiosity, but after a while of Katara not doing anything, he closed his eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.

~*=~*=~*=~Five Minutes Later~*=~*=~*=~

Feeling very, very sorry for what she had done and feeling extreme pity for the prince and his pathetic attempts at catching fish, Katara decided to help him out and so she waterbended some fish for him, and swiftly and painlessly—she hoped—killed them.

Bringing them back to the tree, she saw the prince asleep, but didn't want to wake him. She set the fish down and froze them in a block of ice so they wouldn't rot, and left quickly to retrieve Zuko's sleeping mat. When she returned 10 minutes later, with his sleeping mat and a few extra blankets, he was still asleep.

Katara laid the mat on the ground and gently rolled Zuko onto it. He woke up, but was very tired, so kept quiet with his eyes closed, silently thanking her for her kindness. She pulled the blankets over him and thinking he was still asleep, began talking softly.

"You weren't splashing around that much. I…felt you. I guess you used firebending or something, because suddenly I felt the water grow warmer," she said, and the next thing she spoke, she uttered quietly, but the Fire Prince still heard, "And it…it felt…nice. All the water I've bent before has been cold, or at the most, cool-border-lining-on-lukewarm. Fire-heated water…felt good to bend. I experimented a little when Aang left and--" Katara blinked, realized she was rambling (and to a sleeping person, no less!), but she was glad he was asleep. With a small sigh she headed back to the temple, unaware of the smiling firebender she left behind.

**

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I hope you enjoyed! Please review!!!**

**So my plan for this story: I don't want to follow the episodes' script, I wanna kinda write my own version, but I may refer back to actual episodes (i.e. In the next chapter(s) I may reference to the Southern Raiders). Would you guys be ok with that? Tell me!**

**I apologize for any errors.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three, everyone! XD I hope this was worth the wait and that there aren't people lining up to hurt me…it's the holiday season peoples!! **

**Anyway, I had fun writing this chapter, especially the fight scenes, but they were my first ones so PLEASE tell me if I screwed them horribly. Enjoy everyone!**

**Disclaimer: If, _hypothetically_****, I owned ATLA, Kataangers and Maiko...ers would be lining up with torture devices outside my house because Zutara would happen.

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"Bananas, anyone?" Katara asked, walking up to the two firebending boys and holding out some yellow bananas.

"Wow, thank you Katara!" Aang 'bowed' while grabbing a banana and cramming it into his mouth. Grudgingly, Katara turned to the (shirtless!) fire prince, raising an eyebrow in silent question. He shrugged, extending his hand while eyeing Katara warily. She noticed, but paid no attention, simply handing the banana to him and withdrawing to some steps. Sitting down, she peeled her own banana, watching.

The boys quickly finished their small snack and resumed their firebending, but something was…off. Katara had fought Zuko before, had seen him fight before, and knew what he was capable of. But…this?

He was showing Aang some moves and exercises, but they seemed basic. Katara frowned. Yes, the basics were important, but Aang would need to know more advanced bending in order to defeat Ozai.

An idea and suspicion crawled into her mind. Katara stood and walked away from the training ground, feeling two pairs of eyes on her. As soon as she was around the corner, however, she doubled back and hid behind a wide pillar, close enough to hear Aang and Zuko talking. What they said confirmed her suspicions.

"Come on Zuko, show me some _real_ firebending," Aang said. An indignant look appeared on Zuko's face, and he started to respond, but Aang cut him off.

"I know you act differently when Katara's around, but she's not here! And even if she were, I'd talk to her. Whatever she said to you shouldn't keep you from teaching me everything you can."

Zuko's eyes widened at the perceptive young Avatar, but he only nodded. Katara almost exclaimed in surprise as she found out that little tidbit of info. To think Aang may not be able to defeat the Fire Lord because of something _she said_…an image of all her friends, dead, popped into her mind, with Ozai laughing maniacally in the background. She shook her head and bit her lip to keep from crying out.

Because…Zuko's body was among the dead and Katara actually _felt_ something seeing him lying there…and it wasn't satisfaction.

Coming back to the present, she watched Zuko standing there, hands together in the traditionally Fire Nation greeting and his eyes closed, and she waited with Aang. For what, she wasn't sure. Maybe for Zuko to unleash some huge display of firebending?

Katara's eyes narrowed a bit, and she unconsciously slipped into a ready fighting stance, her canteen uncorked and her hand ready to draw out some water should Zuko attack Aang.

Some feeling in the very, very bottom of her hear stirred a small voice in the very, very back of her mind that suggested maybe Zuko was actually a good guy. Maybe he really _was_ on their side, maybe he was sorry.

Then a louder, more dominant voice started arguing that Zuko had had trouble doing the right thing in the past, he is Fire Nation, and he could be planning to capture Aang again.

The small voice shot back by saying there was a lot about Zuko she didn't know, just because he was from the Fire Nation didn't mean he was evil (or had even _started_ the war to begin with), and if he wanted to capture Aang, he had had plenty of time to do it.

Before Katara's 'rational' mind could come up with another argument, Zuko moved. Immediately, she stopped thinking and watched.

Flames shot out of Zuko's fist, heading straight to Aang. The young airbender jumped out of the way, while shooting bursts of fire at his teacher. Zuko blocked the small flames with a wall of fire, then charged, attacking ferociously.

Katara slumped to her knees. She knew Zuko was a powerful bender, but this? This was…

Amazing.

Something in Katara itched to fight against such power.

~*~*~Later, around noon, lunch time~*~*~

Today, the Gaang was eating lunch by the river, because Katara decided to have fish for lunch. Fish that _she_ caught, of course. She couldn't stop herself from flaunting this in front of a certain prince. She didn't even have the fish ready, when everybody came, she just made Zuko start a fire (which he did—only because she glared…he liked it when she was angry…***author runs away from blushing Zuko*) **and just bent a bunch of fish out of the water, passing out sticks to everyone.

If people wanted seconds, for example when Sokka held out his stick with a pout, Katara rolled her eyes and "summoned the fish" (as Sokka put it) to his feet. Of course in the process, she 'accidentally' splashed Zuko with some water.

But at least, he thought while suppressing a groan, she was eating too.

As everyone was finishing up, Sokka picked up another stick from the ground and banged his two twigs together.

"Ahem, attention everyone! First, I want to congratulate everyone on their great training. We're coming so far and you're all becoming really good. But when we fight the Fire Lord, we won't be training or sparring for fun. It'll be the real thing. So that's why I think we should know more of each other's strengths, weaknesses, and fighting styles so we're more unified in battle."

Everyone murmured in agreement, but Sokka wasn't finished.

"In order to do this, we're all going to fight each other, bender vs. bender vs. nonbender vs. nonbender. Everyone is going to fight against Zuko or Aang, just to see how firebenders fight. And yes—" Sokka held up his hand as Aang and Zuko began to protest "—you guys will get breaks. I've already predetermined who fights who, and first up is…Katara and Zuko."

The Gaang began clearing a space, while shouts of "Don't kill 'im, Sugar Queen," and "Come out alive you two," filled the air. Katara just rolled her eyes as she stripped down to her undergarments, but she was pretty excited, after seeing the mock fight between Zuko and Aang in the morning.

She kind of wondered why she and Zuko were to fight first, but soon it became clear to her. It was noon, the sun was at its highest point in the sky, thus Zuko was at his most powerful, while she had the entire river as a water source. Of course, there was a very small chance that there would be a river where Katara would fight, but right now she didn't care. She just wanted to fight against Zuko and his powerful bending as she slipped into a fighting stance, bending some water around her.

"Don't you DARE go easy on me," she warned Zuko. _Oh Yue, if he didn't fight her with the power she had seen earlier that day—she wouldn't be responsible for her actions._

Meanwhile, Zuko almost snorted. "I wasn't planning on it," he called back. He had his _pride_ to consider. And he knew she was more than capable of protecting herself. Not to mention what she'd do if he 'defied her'. With that, he lunged forward with his fist, fire shooting towards the girl. Katara quickly made a shield with the water, then in the blink of an eye, turned her shield into countless ice daggers which flew towards Zuko.

He dodged the ones he could and used his fire to deflect the others. He started running around, shooting bursts of fire at Katara while moving. Katara drew water from the river to create an octopus around her. While some arms extinguished the fireballs, Katara shot whips of water at the firebender. He dodged/used his fire to stop most of them, but one got past his defenses, slapping his shoulder.

Katara smirked, but this was not the time to celebrate. Zuko ignored the pain, and Katara changed tactics, aiming for his legs. He jumped, high in the air, and shot fire down at her for the brief moment he was in the air, but she blocked all the flames. Crouching to the ground, he ducked under another torrent of ice daggers from Katara. Another dagger caused Zuko to jump out of the way, and as he was doing so, he kicked a stream of fire at her legs.

She didn't notice until it was _almost_ too late and she hastily drew some water to shield her body. The blast, however, knocked her off her balance. Zuko took advantage of the situation and sent thin but long streams of fire at the waterbender. Her eyes widened, but she stayed focused and rolled out of the way while sending her own water whips to meet Zuko's.

Unfortunately, she didn't block them all and a small flame licked her left arm. Her eyes watered and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Katara glared and Zuko gulped as dozens of ice **spears** came hurtling toward him. He took a deep breath and unleashed as much fire as he could without passing out. Of course, since it was noon, it was a lot of fire.

Katara knew there was no way to stop all of that fire, so she bent enough water to cover her body and sent it to the middle of the flames, running forward as she did so. When the water met the fire, a small hole appeared, just big enough for Katara's body to slip through, which she did, coating her body in more water to protect from the fire. Just as she was about to attack Zuko, he surrounded her with a circle of fire, and her water evaporated.

"I win," he smirked, but both teens were breathing heavily.

"He wins," Sokka declared and everyone applauded. Zuko smiled and extinguished the flames around Katara. She just stuck her tongue out, but secretly, adrenalin was still pumping through her. She really needed to fight him at night. Then we'd see who'd win, she thought.

Her smirk quickly turned into a grimace as the pain in her arm brought her back to the present. She vaguely heard Sokka announce he would be fighting Toph next as she excused herself and walked a ways down to the river, away from the noise so she could concentrate on healing herself.

Katara sat down on a rock on the banks of the river and drew some water from the source. It covered her right hand in a glove and started to glow as she pressed it to the small burn on her upper arm that was shaped like a thick, jagged line. She sighed in contentment as the pain went away, thanks to the cool, relaxing water.

"I'm sorry," a soft voice from behind her whispered. Katara turned around in surprise. Zuko was standing a few feet away, looking at her arm in regret, but Katara sensed there was more behind his apology. Her mind was transported back to Ba Sing Se, and she almost got lost in those feelings of betrayal, but she forced herself back to the present.

_I know._

She wouldn't meet Zuko's eyes; she knew he was sorry, but she didn't know if she would forgive him. _Could _she?

Her eyes were drawn to his shoulder, where one of her water whips had hit him. Before she could stop herself, she said, "Come here."

Zuko looked at her; surprise and wariness written on his face, but stepped forward. Katara stood up and gestured for him to sit down. He did, and before he could ask her what she wanted, Katara drew some more water from the river, made it cover both of her hands and pressed them gently to Zuko's shoulder. His eyes widened, but after a minute they closed as he relaxed under her touch.

"Thank you," he murmured, eyes still closed. Katara said nothing, just stepped away staring out at the river. After a moment she heard Zuko stand up and felt his eyes on her. She turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"Enjoying the view, 'Sparky?'"

Zuko sputtered and tried to look away, to no avail. His cheeks flaming, he managed to stutter, "I-I wasn't—" Katara just snorted and headed back to the others, but a smile appeared on her face when she heard Zuko smack himself. She didn't need Toph to know Zuko, brother to _Azula_, was a horrible liar.

* * *

**Eh…I don't know if I'm happy about this chapter…I think the fight scenes were okay, but…**_**tell**_** me, are Zuko and Katara still in character? Hope you enjoyed! Keep reading and reviewing, please! I apologize for any errors, and remember: I WILL TAKE REQUESTS FOR THIS STORY!**


	4. Chapter 4

**All right everyone! Happy Holidays/New Year (Even if this is late)!!!!! Hope you enjoy this chapter and yay to me for actually updating reasonably. XD **

_**IMPORTANT NOTE: **_**Ok, so this takes place after The Boiling Rock, but NOTE THIS: Hakoda is not sitting with the Gaang while they eat, cause that would be frickin' awkward. You'll see. Suki is here too even if I don't reference her. I kinda wanted to do a Boiling Rock chapter but then the Zutara ness would take forever. **

_**THANK YOU TO:**_** All my reviewers, of course (I think I thanked you all personally…I hope I did), but ESPECIALLY ****AnnaAza**** for giving me an idea/suggestion. I hope this is up to par with what you wanted…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. That's probably why I turn into a scary monster whenever it's that time of the month.

* * *

**

Today, Katara was excited. Very excited. Everyone would have a special treat tonight.

Since food had started running low, Katara had gone out to collect some more. She had gone out to an unfamiliar part of the forest, so it was a big surprise when she had fallen off a cliff. Fortunately, she hadn't fallen too far, and it would be easy to climb back up; there were vines and footholds. Before she did however, Katara's curiosity had gotten the best of her and she had explored a bit. After a while, she had decided to head back when she stumbled upon a mango tree.

Katara had squealed in joy, collecting as many as would fit into her sack, and quickly climbed up the cliff, running back to camp with a smile on her face

~~~~Dinnertime~~~~

As Katara waited for the soup to finish cooking, she counted the number of mangos she had gotten. With increasing pleasure she counted one mango for everyone, even herself.

Soon the smells of the food attracted everyone to the courtyard and not a minute later, the soup was ready. Everyone eagerly scrambled into line, holding their bowls out like starved children. Katara ladled soup into each and every bowl, and tried not to dwell on the fact that Zuko was the only one who said, "Thank you." After everyone was served, she joined them, sitting between Toph and Teo.

"Mmmm…this is great Sugar Queen," Toph exclaimed, and Katara smiled, ignoring the fact that Toph was slurping up her soup in a horrible display of manners.

"What?! No meat?!" Sokka cried, but before Katara could say anything, Toph moved her foot, sending him face first into his bowl. Everyone laughed comfortably, and Katara smiled contentedly.

* * *

When everyone had finished, Katara collected the bowls, and retrieved the mango bag.

"Surprise!" she called, while tossing a mango to her friends and Zuko. Exclamations of delight rose while everyone bit eagerly into their fruits. All except a certain firebender. And for some reason, this annoyed Katara to no end. Standing up, she walked over to the prince, with a glare on her face.

"Are mangos not _good_ enough for you, _Your Highness_?" The sarcasm was not lost on him.

"Sorry, I don't like mangos." Zuko wasn't in a good mood either.

"Who doesn't like _mangos_?" Katara asked with a snort. Zuko's eyes narrowed, but he kept his calm tone.

"I apologize if I don't enjoy eating every single edible thing in the world."

"Do you know what it took to get these mangos? I climbed down and up a cliff so _you_ could enjoy a small luxury! Who knows the next time you'll be able to eat stuff like this again? If you _can_ even eat again…"

"You know the way, you could make another trip, or tell someone else the way. I'll just eat something else." As soon as the words left Zuko's mouth, he knew he had made a mistake. Katara narrowed her eyes and her face turned into a scowl. All of a sudden, all her bottled up feelings toward the firebender, the betrayal, the confusion, and all the events that had happened since he joined, everything—BURST.

"Oh, so I'm _supposed_ to spend my time finding food you enjoy. I'm _supposed_ to spend my days slaving away to bring you five course meals."

"That's not what I meant—"

"So what do you mean, Zuko? When will we finally know what you mean? What did you mean when you betrayed us in Ba Sing Se and joined your crazy family, hmm? And then you come here, spouting stuff about teaching Aang firebender and destiny and how you've '_changed'_ after years of being our enemy and who cares what else? You ask us to accept you and even after all you did, chasing us all over the world, turning us paranoid, helping Azula nearly _KILL AANG_, we took you in. And after I nearly kill myself to bring everyone, even _your_ lowly, undeserving self, a little treat, you suddenly decide not to like mangos! I don't believe it! No matter how insane your family is, didn't your dad ever teach you respect?"

Katara stopped, panting, eyes glaring at the firebender. Zuko stood up in anger at the mention of his father. No matter how horrible he had been in the past, and even if this girl had the right to be angry at him, she had no right to falsely accuse him.

"Respect? Oh, yeah, my dad taught me respect. He gave me a lesson I'd never forget. But did your dad teach _you_ respect?" He ignored Katara's indignant protests and kept talking. "Let's assume he did. How did he teach you? Did he give you meaningful talks? Did he scold you if you were disrespectful? I bet he did because your dad loves you. He sure as heck didn't think _you_ were a failure, a DISGRACE to the family."

At this, Katara's eyes widened and she took a step back. Zuko took a step forward.

"Would you like to know how my father 'taught' me respect? _HE BURNED MY FACE!_" Zuko yelled, furiously pointing to his scar. Katara slumped down with a look of complete shock and guilt. She tried to say something, but the words died on her tongue.

_That's why he seemed so helpful in Ba Sing Se…_

And for once, feelings of hate didn't stir in Katara as she thought back to their time in the catacombs under the Impenetrable City.

"He challenged me to an Agni Kai when I was only 13…just because I spoke against one of his general's plans to use many soldiers as _bait_…to send them on a suicide mission!" A harsh laugh escaped him as he shook his head and brushed past Katara, muttering, "Almost makes me think what my mother would do if he hadn't banished her."

Katara hesitated, then turned around to see Zuko storm out of sight. She turned back and stared at the fire, not meeting anyone's eyes. It took just about a minute for her to decide what to do.

* * *

Zuko stood on the banks of the river that flowed lazy by the temple. His anger was ebbing away and he was starting to regret yelling at Katara. _She's sure to forgive you now_, he thought sarcastically. Frustrated, he picked up a small rock at his feet and flung it into the water, strangely satisfied when it made a large splash.

"You know, the rock never did anything to you," came a voice from behind him. Zuko whipped his head around.

"Kata—"he started to say, but she waved her hand, silencing him. Katara walked forward, eyes on the river, hands crossed over her chest as if she was cold. The two stood there, staring at the water before them. After what seemed like forever to Zuko, Katara spoke.

"Whatever happened in your past, it…it doesn't excuse your actions." _Yes it does…_

She took a deep breath while Zuko stood their holding his.

"I'm sorry for yelling and bringing up…bad memories." Katara's eyes started watering but she kept talking even as the hot tears started falling. "At least your mom could still be alive…I just…I just wish I had more time with mine and had told her I loved her…the last words I said to her were 'I'm scared'…_Damn_ the man that killed her! Damn him, damn him, DAMN HIM!" she screamed, and the water of the river started rippling and churning in a response to her anger. She had almost started sobbing but pulled herself together and wiped her eyes.

"This doesn't mean I've forgiven you, but…" Katara made as if to touch Zuko's scar, but pulled her hand back.

"Good night," was all she said and left.

* * *

Zuko let out his breath and touched his scar, wondering why he felt disappointed she hadn't. He looked back at the river, which was calm now, but still held traces of froth from Katara's outburst.

_It seems all of our arguments start or end with our parents…_ Zuko thought absently, then his eyes widened and he nearly fell in the river at the sheer brilliance of the idea that had struck him. He ran off to find Sokka.

~~~~10 Minutes Later~~~~

Zuko stood at Sokka's bedroom door and knocked. All he got was a groan.

"_Some_ of us enjoy our sleep…"

Zuko rolled his eyes and let himself in. Sokka was blinking himself awake, clutching a pillow covered in slobber.

"What d'you want?" Sokka asked, yawning.

"This is going to seem completely random, but I need you to tell me how your mother died."

Sokka was wide awake in an instant. He asked no questions, just started off with, "It's not a day I like to remember…"

* * *

**And I think we all know what'll happen in the next chapter. XD I don't like how this chapter started, but I'm happy with how it ended so… Hope you enjoyed, please review, and feel free to present your humble writer with ideas in case she should happen to run out. Ask questions if you're confused, squeal if you're happy, and firebend your computer into ashes if you're angry.**


	5. Chapter 5

**The long, long long awaited Zutara chapter in all its epicness. XD**

**I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. Seriously. If you decide to abandon this story because I just take too damn long to update, I completely understand and won't hold it against you. **

**For those still not sure/still faithful (THANK YOU I DON'T DESERVE IT), I hope this chapter makes up for the disappointing wait.**

**DISCLAIMER: KICK ME WHILE I'M DOWN, WHY DON'T YOU?! XD. **

**(SETTING INFO: this is STILL at the Western Air Temple. Don't worry. All will be explained)**

**

* * *

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Zuko's head spun as he left Sokka's room. He couldn't believe what he had heard, even though he knew it was true. Exiting the temple and heading into the open courtyard, he looked up at the moon—almost full tonight. The sight made him sad, and he was stuck with the thought of what to do next.

Unconsciously, his feet took him back to the river Katara so loved. It seemed plainer, ordinary, now that she wasn't here to use the power of the water, to bend it and make it beautiful. He idly crouched down and trailed his hand through the water, thinking back to what Sokka had told him.

A sudden movement out of the corner of his eye startled him, and he turned to look. A black bird had landed on a stone in the middle of the river and was cleaning its feathers. It looked familiar to Zuko and he wracked his brain to try and identify it.

Sea raven!

Zuko's eyes widened.

_Sea raven...Southern Raiders…_

He knew what he had to do.

* * *

It was a bit late, so as Zuko stood in front of the door to Katara's room, he debated on whether he should wake her up or let her sleep. In the end, he knocked, reasoning that if someone had information about his mother, he'd want to hear it, night or day.

After receiving no answer, he slowly eased open the door and lit a small fire in his hand. Looking around the room, he found Katara in a pile of blankets on her bed in the corner.

"Katara," he whispered. A low moan and a "Go away" was all he got.

_Like brother, like sister,_ he thought with a small smile.

"Katara, wake up," he said a little louder. The waterbender yawned and turned to face him. Opening her eyes she squinted in protest and the flame. In response, Zuko dimmed the fire and Katara's face relaxed.

"What do you want? What are you doing in my room?" she asked irritably, although not maliciously.

"I know who killed your mother. And I can help you find him."

Katara was wide awake in a second.

* * *

Zuko didn't usually question Katara. He didn't question why she had wordlessly believed him. He didn't question why she had black ninja clothes that were almost identical to his. He didn't question why she had taken Appa in the middle of the night—without telling Aang or anybody else.

Katara was, likewise, as silent but she did have two questions.

"How will we find this man? Who _is_ he anyway?"

"If I'm correct and it is the Southern Raiders we're looking for, the man we want would be their leader. Ordinary soldiers don't do…_interrogations_."

Katara's face visibly darkened and Zuko hurried to answer her other question. "We'll need to find a Fire Nation Navy base and find the scrolls that contain the Southern Raiders' orders and location. The base should be in this general direction—away from the moon."

The waterbender nodded and both teens sat in silence until Zuko pointed to a tower in the distance.

"There! That's the navy base!"

Katara masterfully steered Appa toward a small island covered with trees a few ways off from the tower. Leading him to the middle of the plants, she whispered to him to wait and be quiet; they'd return for him soon. Appa grunted his understanding and yawned, falling asleep in minutes.

Blue eyes turned around to stare at golden ones.

"Let's go," they said and the benders ran to the beach, where Katara filled her waterskins.

"Come on," she called and creating a raft of ice, jumped aboard. Momentarily surprised, Zuko quickly followed.

Being a firebender, he wasn't used to balancing on ice and so he kneeled down while the girl next to him stood up, completely comfortable. They didn't speak, mainly because Zuko was trying not to slip and Katara was pushing them forward with waves. The firebender had to admire the girl's silent strength, but his attention quickly shifted to the high cliff they were approaching, with the black tower atop it.

Before he could say anything, Katara muttered, "Hold on," and the waves behind them grew larger.

_Hold on? Hold on to what?!_ Zuko thought frantically but he needn't have worried.

Before he had the time to fall off, Katara raised her arms and the raft of ice rose with her and suddenly they were level with the top of the cliff. Instinctively, Zuko jumped and landed softly, like the ninja he was dressed as. Katara landed next to him a little less cleanly, but she recovered herself. Before the two could say anything to each other, the door of the tower opened and guards walked out.

The teens quickly hid behind the adjacent wall, waiting for the guards to pass. Their eyes met and Katara asked a wordless question, knowing how important silence was now and grateful for the full moon which provided light.

_Do we enter that door?_

Zuko gave a nod and the two rushed in. Sticking to the shadows, they didn't meet many people and the few who did were quickly dispatched. Using his vague memories of the general anatomy of Fire Navy bases, Zuko led them to the communications room. Standing outside the door, Katara pointed out the officer at the desk and the large wooden crates. Zuko nodded, and the two slipped behind them as the waterbender bent some ink out of the officer's ink well, causing him to grunt in annoyance and to get up and head outside. He didn't see the young benders at all.

As soon as he turned the corner, the teens rushed out, searching through the countless scrolls. It was Zuko who found the right one, a map of the Fire Nation and surrounding islands.

"There," he said, pointing, "the Southern Raiders: on patrol near Whale Tail Island."

Katara's eyes narrowed in anticipation as she stared at the sea raven emblem.

"Whale Tail Island, here we come."

* * *

_Why does he have to be so far away?_ Katara wondered, thinking of her mother's killer. It had been a few hours since they had discovered the location of the Southern Raiders, and the lack of sleep was starting to worry Zuko. But he knew how stubborn and headstrong she was, so he wasn't surprised when she turned down his offer to take the reins.

"No, I'm fine," she replied, her voice sounding weary. He tried again.

"You've been awake for hours, aren't you tired? Besides," he went on, not giving her a chance to reply, "you'll want your strength when you face him."

Katara then proceeded to mutter something under her breath which sounded strangely like "Don't you worry about my strength." Zuko sighed, but didn't comment.

The waterbender was silent, and Zuko was beginning to wonder if she had fallen asleep, when she asked, "How much further?"

"A few more hours at least…are you SURE you don't want to sleep?"

"Sleep is the last thing on my mind right now," Katara said, her voice filled with venom. Zuko shrugged and although the man they were going to meet deserved everything coming to him, he couldn't help but shiver slightly at the waterbender's voice. Wordlessly, he lay back down in the saddle, staring up at the clouds.

* * *

It was true. Sleep _was_ the last thing on Katara's mind because if she slept, she'd have nightmares of that day. His malicious, golden eyes would haunt her. They weren't bright or deep like…like Zuko's eyes. They were dull, deceitful and slick, reminding her not of a majestic dragon, but a sly, sneaky snake.

Katara didn't think she hated anyone more than that man, not even _Ozai_.

"Yip, yip," she whispered to Appa who responded with a groan. She had a feeling they were nearing their destination.

* * *

Katara spotted the ship first. After calling to Zuko for confirmation, she went into action. Whispering commands to Appa, he dived into the water, protected from drowning from the bubble of air Katara bent around them.

For a second all three creatures, firebender, waterbender, and flying bison, were surrounded by silence and blue water. It was calming if not reassuring for Katara, who was surrounded by her element. It was a bit disconcerting for Zuko, who knew his firepower was weakened, but he was reassured by the silence. And for Appa, who knows, but he did close his eyes and relax for the briefest moment.

And then the spell was broken; the bison broke the surface of the water and floated there contentedly on the other side of the ship while the surprised shouts of the Southern Raiders reached the ears of benders and animal. Without skipping a beat, Katara raised her arms and two waves crashed simultaneously on the deck, washing all officers overboard.

Zuko jumped onto the cleared deck, Katara right behind him. His memories of Fire Nation ships were fresher and he moved with purpose to the captain's cabin. The few Fire Nation men they met on the way were quickly disposed of.

They stopped in front of a metal door, and Katara sucked in a breath.

"Are you ready to face him?"

She closed her eyes. A minute later she opened them and in answer, gave a forceful battle cry; drawing water from the pouches on her hips and using it push the door open.

Zuko immediately jumped in front of her to deflect the blasts of fire the startled captain sent at them, knowing she would need a second to gather her water. He even threw some blasts of his own, and, fueled by his anger, the blasts succeeded in throwing the man to the floor.

"Who—Who _are_ you?" he cried. Zuko gave a small glance to Katara then looked back at the frightened man.

"You don't remember her? You will soon….Think back to your last raid on the Southern Water Tribe." Zuko shook the man from his position on the ground.

The captain, clearly terrified, stammered, "I—I don't know what you're talking about. R—Really, I don't."

Zuko wanted to scream his disgust at this shivering lump that called himself a captain and scream his frustration and anger at this man who took a mother away.

"Stop lying! Look her in the eyes and then say you don't remember."

As if in agreement, Katara closed her eyes and concentrated on the captain's blood. Moving her hands slowly, rigidly, she made the man rise from the floor and tilted his head so their eyes were locked.

_Blood bending…_Zuko's eyes widened a bit as he remembered what happened to him. Then he turned around to glare at the captain. He didn't deserve any mercy.

Katara glared into the frightened eyes of the man before her, then stopped.

_It wasn't him. His eyes were wrong._

Wordlessly, she released the man's blood, shutting her eyes to disappointment.

"It's not him," was all she said as she walked away from the sputtering captain.

"What?" Zuko was astounded. _How could she be so sure? If this wasn't the man who killed her mother…_ But he wasn't ready to give up for her. Grabbing the captain by his collar, he growled, "If you're not the man we're looking for, who is?"

The coward gulped and said, "You must be looking for Yon Ra. He retired four years ago."

Though Katara was still walking, she heard him and her eyes opened in grim determination. She waited while Zuko interrogated the man further, finding where Yon Ra lived.

* * *

They hid Appa in the midst of trees on the island.

_Yon Ra…so the monster has a name_… was Katara's only thought as she and Zuko hid behind a tree. Watching the murderer. Waiting.

There were no doubts that he had been in the military, his instincts were no less sharp than ever. The third time he whirled around, shooting fire at an innocent bush and declaring that "No one sneaks up on me without getting burned," were proof enough. Of course, none of this mattered to any of them.

Zuko's stealth skills were once again shown. As the murderer bent down to pick up the fruit and vegetables he had dropped, Zuko set up a trap in a flash. Katara barely had a moment to admire it. As soon as Ra straightened and turned, he tripped over the wire, falling face first into a mud pile. He barely had time to register what had happened when a flash of fire landed dangerously close to his face.

Scrambling to sit up, he saw Zuko's lethal eyes.

"We weren't behind the bush." Zuko lunged closer, his fists ready. "And I wouldn't try firebending again."

"Whoever you are, take my money, take my food, take whatever you want! I'll cooperate," Ra stammered. It was here that Katara chose to walk up, removing the cloth that covered her mouth, showing her entire face.

_This is it._

"Do you know who I am?" she asked, her voice soft yet mature and…deadly beyond her years. It wasn't a voice Yon Ra would prefer to hear again, but it was a voice he'd hear in his nightmares to come.

"No, I don't. I'm not sure." _There was a chance…she did look familiar…but it was impossible._

"Well you better remember me like your life depends on it!" The softly dangerous voice rose, becoming louder but no less dangerous. Then, it dropped just as suddenly. "Why don't you take a closer look?"

No_. It was impossible. There was a chance, yes…BUT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE! _ Following the girl's advice, he looked closer and his mind could no longer deny it.

"Yes…yes…I remember you now!" Lightning flashed behind the girl and for a second he was transported back. Now her angry eyes were afraid and younger. He heard her voice as she told her mother of her fears. He saw her quivering chin as she ran outside to get her father. He heard his own, chilling voice say "I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today."

Then he was back. "You're that little Water Tribe girl!"

When Yon Ra saw the fury and sadness flash in her eyes, he knew he had guessed right, and he gulped.

As if the weather mirrored Katara's own emotions, lightning flashed again. There was the forceful, angry voice again.

"She lied to you. She was _protecting_ the last waterbender."

Curiosity and dread welled up in Ra.

"What? Who?"

The girl remained silent for another second, her brow creased in sorrow. Then it was all gone and her face was furious again.

"_Me!" _

She raised her arms, as if to prove her statement and the rain stopped falling. They lay suspended in the air, drops of water, and Ra's eyes darted around, unbelieving.

After a few more seconds, the suspended water formed a dome, a barrier from the outside world. Zuko looked up and if it weren't for what they had set out to do today, he might have stopped to admire the dome longer.

Katara glared at the man for a little longer. Then, in one fluid motion, she twisted her arms and the water from the dome followed, turning into sharp daggers of ice.

The last thing Yon Ra heard was the angry cry of the girl as she hurled them at him.

…Or, so he thought.

After several seconds of not feeling any pain but clearly feeling the cold ground beneath him, he opened his eyes. He almost closed them again—he was surrounded by sharp chunks of ice. Any great movement and he was sure to be impaled—but it would be his own fault.

He saw the girl's sad face as she dropped her arms and he thought she had changed her mind, so he covered his head in a futile attempt of protection. The only thing that hit him, though, was water. Normal water.

An idea struck him. _Time to get rid of that old cow once and for all._

"I did a bad thing, I know I did, and you deserve revenge. So why don't you take my mother instead? That would be fair."

Katara normally would've been shocked to hear such a thing. Normally.

"I always wondered what kind of person could _do such a thing_." Ra winced at the emphasis she put on "do such a thing."

"But now that I _see_ you, I think I understand," Katara said calmly, but it felt as if she were spitting the words to Ra. She walked closer.

"There's just nothing inside of you. Nothing at all. You're _pathetic_, and _sad_, and _empty_."

Now, all that filled Ra's mind was to get out alive. That didn't make him any less traumatized by all this.

"Please, spare me," he whimpered and started sobbing.

The Water Tribe girl went on as if nothing had happened.

"But as _much_ as I _hate_ you…" she shivered and closed her eyes. "As much as I hate you….I just can't do it."

Ra could hardly believe his ears. He couldn't stop a small smile from forming on his withered face.

He quickly wiped it off when the girl's firebending companion glared at him as she walked away. He stared at the retired officer for a while before following the girl.

And all Ra was disappointed about was that his mother was still nagging at him when he returned.

* * *

Katara and Zuko left the town where Yon Ra lived, but they made camp in the outskirts of another. It was almost a day's journey back to the Western Air Temple, and both benders were exhausted. Katara made a fire (for once) while Zuko went out to gather food for the night. When he returned, he offered some to her but she declined, staring at the fire. After several minutes, she spoke.

"I was _so ready_ to kill him. So…" she trailed off. Zuko listened silently. "But when I actually saw him and how pathetic he was…I just couldn't. I just didn't….I know he deserves it. But I won't be the one to end his life."

They were silent for a little more, the only sounds were the crackles of the fire and the snores from Appa.

"I'll never forgive him, though. _Never_." Katara looked up at Zuko to see his reaction. He just nodded.

* * *

When Katara woke up the next morning, she immediately felt something wrong. She lay there, not making a move. Just listening for signs of ambush or signs that Appa was gone. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary there.

Sitting up, she saw it.

Zuko.

Was gone.

_Just when she had been ready to forgive—NO_. He didn't deserve it either. Katara put her head in her hands. _How could she have been so stupid?_ As she sat there, he was probably alerting the authorities, heading back to the capital, or something else, but whatever he was doing he was betraying the Gaang.

Betraying her.

_Again._

The most unnerving part about all this was that she wasn't doing anything. She was just sitting there, curled up in a ball.

Maybe her heart wasn't ready to take such betrayal. Not now.

* * *

When Zuko returned, he found Katara curled up against a tree, her head resting on her knees.

"Katara?" he whispered softly; if she was asleep he didn't want to wake her.

And she exploded.

"Where in the WORLD have you been?! Don't tell me—there are Fire Nation soldiers just a few feet away, waiting to capture me! You pig—I should've KNOWN something like this would happen—"

She stopped.

She stopped because Zuko looked like he was about to cry. Literally.

"What happened?" she asked softly, but not any less unkindly. Zuko cleared his throat, but his eyes remained wet.

"We're going to have to move out of the Western Air Temple. The Fire Nation knows where we are." At Katara's look, he hurriedly said, "I was in town, just to see what the Fire Nation knew about us right now, and I overheard plans to attack the Temple tomorrow." He turned his back to Katara. "We should leave right away—"

"That's not it. What's really bothering you, Zuko?" The waterbender asked gently, moving closer and putting a hand on his shoulder.

And he broke. Tears started streaming down his face, though he was quick to wipe them away.

"Tell me," she urged. And he did.

"I thought—I thought I saw my mother. In town. But…but it wasn't her. I know, I got a closer look…my mother doesn't have brown eyes."

Katara's heart almost broke. "Oh, Zuko…" And she hugged him, holding his head close.

Fresh tears fell from Zuko's eyes before he closed them. They stayed like that for a few more minutes, Zuko reluctant to leave the comfort of her arms, Katara reluctant to disturb him.

"If it helps anything…I forgive you," Katara whispered softly.

"Thank you."

* * *

**Well, that was nice. Did you like it? WAS IT WORTH THE WAIT? Or should I quit while I'm ahead (of what, I don't know)? Feedback people, FEEDBACK! **

**As for a reference pic on the hug scene at the end, see my profile. Till next time! Which will hopefully be a sooner update. For now—I'm tired.**

**RANDOM COMMENTS: Listen to the song "In between" by Linkin Park. I swear—THIS SONG WAS WRITTEN FOR ZUTARA!!!! I'd love to see an AMV with this song…*nudge nudge wink wink* Or is it *wink wink nudge nudge*? Whatever. Tell your AMV making friends, or consider it yourself.**

**Don't forget that review! I really really do hope this chapter was worth the wait.**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Color Red: Chapter 6**

**Well, what can I say? Sorry if this is late? Psh. You've heard it all before and frankly, it's starting to bore me. I can say, like I say every other time, is that I hope you enjoy this, even if just a little bit.**

**Enough of le serieux. Et pardonnez-mon francais. HAPPY HOLIDAYS OUT THERE FOLKS! Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, or some other holiday, even if you celebrate nothing at all, I hope you had a bright December and an even better year. Well, my finals finished awhile ago, and now I actually have time on my hands. Which means, more updates! Hopefully another chapter of this around the first day of the New Year. ;) Keep a lookout!**

**THANKS TO WRITTEN-PARODY for pushing me on this-as soon as I got your comment on dA, I sat down and wrote this. Of course it is dedicated to you. *hug***

**Disclaimer: Crunch bars: mine. ATLA: not so much.**

**

* * *

**

"I guess we should head back."

"...Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

* * *

They packed up in silence, stealing glances at each other, but never making eye contact. What had happened just moments before was both awkward yet special. Triumphant yet not. Different but in a good way. Katara shivered at the new feelings blossoming within her. She had said it; she forgave him. She forgave everything and anything that needed to be forgiven. And maybe, just maybe, she was beginning to trust him more. More than just an ally.

Likewise, Zuko was having similar musings as he tied their few supplies to Appa's saddle. He had to stop from grinning at the step their relationship had taken—from swinging insults to forgiving pasts. However, he was still a bit tentative towards this girl, knowing her moods to be crazier than the famed King Bumi of Omashu. And suddenly, he realized he wanted to know more about this girl who bent water like the storms and who had a lost mother as well.

With a look and a nod, both benders mounted the Avatar's flying bison, Zuko taking the reins and giving Katara some much needed rest.

It had been a crazy 24 hours, but a day neither of the two would have chosen to skip.

* * *

It had been early afternoon when the three left the island and it was sunset when Katara woke. She yawned and stretched her arms, studying Zuko's back.

Crawling up to join him on Appa's head, she took a deep breath and sighed.

"The sky is so beautiful during sunset...that's one _nice _thing about the Fire Nation."

Zuko glanced at her, smiling slightly at the look of joy on her face. "What, the South Pole doesn't have any sunsets?"

Katara gave him a look. "There are, but they're usually covered by clouds. Not that we get much sun anyway."

She offered to switch places with him but he declined. "I'm not tired yet."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself, Mr. I-Rise-With-The-Sun-But-Am-Totally-Useless-When-It-Goes-Down." Katara smirked at his face.

"If we weren't in the air right now, I'd be showing you just how 'useless' I am," Zuko retorted, glaring but grinning.

"Like you did at the North Pole?" she teased, and kind of wished she hadn't. He was still smiling, but it almost looked pained.

"If you still think—" he began, but she silenced him with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry. I forgave you, didn't I?"

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, until Zuko muttered "You were the ones who ran away."

He was smacked in the back of the head by a hand, and he smiled.

* * *

"Okay, Zuko? You're practically falling off Appa's head; go sleep," Katara shooed him away in her somewhat motherly voice.

"Mrrph," he replied and gracefully slumped back to the saddle. She rolled her eyes, and laughed at the stars.

* * *

When Zuko woke up, the first thing he realized was that it was early morning. Which meant that the Fire Nation would attack the temple soon, if they hadn't already.

"How far are we from the temple?" he asked Katara, crawling up to join her. She glanced at him and replied, "Not much—about fifteen more minutes." He gave a terse nod, anxiously peering ahead through the thin morning mist.

The two teens stayed in tense silence, broken only with Katara's occasional "Yip, yip"s to Appa, urging him on. The closer they got, the more she prayed that they weren't too late. It was with intense relief to both of them when the temple arrived, looking intact with no sign of attack.

"Oh thank Yue," Katara murmured, as Appa gave a low bellow and dove down to land on the stoned ground of the temple.

"You go wake the others and I'll gather our supplies," Katara instructed, grunting as she jumped off Appa's head and landed in a crouch. Zuko nodded and leapt off and ran to get their friends.

Sprinting down the hall of rooms, he started yelling "Everybody wake up and go to Appa in the main courtyard! NOW-we have no time to lose" and banging his fist on the doors. "Bring anything vital you have with you in your rooms and HURRY!" he added and hit the doors one more time for good measure. With that done, he went into his own room and hurriedly gathered his personal items before running to help Katara and to load his supplies onto Appa's back.

"They awake?" Katara asked breathlessly, climbing up and down Appa's back with her arms full.

"If they aren't by now, they're dead," he mused, smirking when Katara shook her head.

Within minutes, the courtyard was full with tired but alert people, looking to Zuko and Katara for instructions.

"We don't have time to explain everything, but we know the Fire Nation has planned an attack on this temple today," Zuko started and raised his hand to silence the alarmed cries. "We need to leave as soon as possible, but Appa can only carry so many people. Now everyone needs to stay calm while we sort this all out."

Teo spoke up: "Well, Appa is Aang's, so Aang needs to stay with him. And since he's the Avatar, he should be accompanied by his teachers and closest friends. So you, Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Suki should go with him. The rest of us will go somewhere else and prepare for Sozin's Comet together."

Zuko nodded. "That's a good idea, but where will you guys go?"

"I know an uninhabited island not too far from here that has game and fruit. We'll go there," Hakoda answered.

Sokka and Katara shot worried looks at each other. "But Dad—" Sokka started to protest, but the Water Tribe chief raised his hand.

"As much as I hate to be separated from you two again, I don't have anything to offer the Avatar, and I'm sure Appa would appreciate not bearing my weight," he explained, withholding tears. His children hated to admit it, but their father was right.

"This won't be the last time we're together," Katara promised as she and Sokka embraced their father. Her brother nodded, looking determined, and taking Suki's hand, climbed on top of Appa. The rest of the benders followed suit, Aang mounting last.

"This won't be the last time any of us are together," he said firmly, looking out at the people he had met throughout his short life. "Stay safe—we _will _see each other again."

With one last wave to the friends they were leaving behind, the six teens looked on as Appa took to the air and the ones left behind made their way down the mountainside to the sea beyond.

And not a moment too soon. Before Appa flew out of sight of the temple, everyone saw the flames.

"Oh Yue..." Katara breathed, staring at the attacked temple in horror. "I hope they made it out in time..."

"Of course they did," Sokka said, closing his eyes and praying. "Dad's with them."

"But what about us?" Toph said, asking the question on everyone's minds. "Where are _we _gonna go?"

The Gaang was silent as they all contemplated the question.

"The Royal Family's vacation home on Ember Island," Zuko said, meeting eyes with everyone.

"In the Fire Nation? Is that smart?" Sokka asked skeptically.

"Trust me—though the island's not deserted, the house is. No one ever goes there anymore."

"If you say so...just give me directions, Sifu Hotman," Aang said, trying to lighten the mood, but his face remained solemn.

The rest of the day was passed in silence, everyone absorbed in their own thoughts, worries, and hopes.

* * *

**Not much Zutara at the end, I know, but a turning point! in the relationship. Gotta count for something right? Also not as long as you're probably used to, but hopefully the next update (which will take place before the 5th of January since that's around when I go back to school) will make up for it.**

**I wuv Teo. He's so smart. (=^_^=)**

**Gosh, I was rereading this story (and shooting myself every time I found an error) and I realized chapter 3/4 was/were updated around this time...last year. o.O||| You don't need to kill me, I'll do that myself. XD Jk, even if all you guys left, I'd still keep posting this-for myself.**

**But that won't happen, because it's you guys who really make this what it is. I can tell my writing's been progressing and maturing (I hope...) and I'm just glad that you've been along for the ride (so far XD). That's my holiday present.**

**Don't forget to review, as always, even if you hate it-I want to hear from you! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Happy New Year guys (even if it's freaking February right now)! 2011, here we are. Looking forward to another Zutara Week again, as always, though now is a bit early, I think.**

**Updated a little later than what I would've hoped, and I hope you don't mind...**

**But seriously, that last chapter? Wow. I didn't know you guys were still so passionate about this story! Thanks to all the reviewers (signed in peeps, I know I thanked individually, anon peeps: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH), and all the people who favorited the story/me (3) or added this/me to alerts. **

**Anyway, here's to a new year, filled with Zutara action, as always. ZUTARA WILL NEVER DIE! THE ZUTARIANS WILL NEVER GO AWAY! YOU'RE STUCK WITH US. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.**

**NOTE: This is the "Ember Island" chapter, if it can be called that, and I've quoted many things from the episode, but some things have been twisted. If you've seen the episode (and I sincerely hope you have; if not you can watch them all at animefreak . tv ) you'll see that some things have been changed. Hehehehe *rubs hands maliciously***

***ahem***

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA, but the Zutara New Year belongs to us Zutarians.**

* * *

"Oh yes...Earth, sweet earth," Toph moaned, jumping off Appa to greet the sandy ground. "I hate flying," she declared, her voice muffled by the sand. Appa grunted and gently swat the girl with his tail. The rest of the Gaang laughed tiredly, each taking his or her things and getting off Appa a similar manner.

"Here we are," Zuko said, gesturing towards the looming house behind them. "The Royal Vacation House."

Tired as they were, the five other friends gave various exclamations of awe and amazement.

"It's so beautiful..."

"Talk about getting away from it all!"

"_Real beds_..."

"You must've had a lot of fun here as a kid, Zuko!" Aang exclaimed, oblivious to the quick look that flickered over the firebender's face.

"Yeah...we did," he whispered, looking out to the sunset and the approaching night.

"Well, it's getting late and we're all tired. Everyone-just find somewhere to sleep and we'll talk more in the morning," Katara instructed, giving Appa's reins to Aang.

"There are a lot of bedrooms inside; enough for everyone. I don't think anyone's too tired to claim a bed," Zuko said, smirking at his friends' excitement.

And thus, chaos ensued as sleep deprived teenagers fought tooth and nail for the best rooms.

* * *

As the sun appeared over the horizon and started its ascent into the sky, the Fire Prince felt his inner fire flaring as his internal clock woke him up. He lay there for a few moments, lost in crashing waves of wistful nostalgia, thoughts of times when his family was that-a family.

Staring at the bright patterns of flames on the ceiling, Zuko silently relived the many mornings spent in his bed that was almost too small for him now. Every other time he had woken up in this room, he couldn't wait to get out of it-eat breakfast and then challenge Azula to a sand-palace building contest, or play hide and seek with everyone. Every other time he had rushed out of bed.

Today, no. He just rolled over on his side and curled up, knowing there would be no games to greet him.

But at least, he had a family. Friends. People who he cared about and-get this-returned the favor. That was enough.

Spurred on by this thought, Zuko got out of bed, stretched, and slowly put on his clothes, making the memories last. He opened his door and walked out into the hall, knowing not many, if any, people would be awake at the crack of dawn, especially not after such a long trip. He didn't expect to run into anyone as he walked down the halls to leave the house and begin his daily training.

Imagine his surprise when he nearly bumped into Katara in the dimly lit halls.

"Good morning, Sparky," she said, yawning at him through lidded eyes. Zuko started to reply when his eyes fell on the doors of the room Katara had just emerged from. His sudden stop and stiffness caught her attention.

"Zuko?" she asked.

"'You took my mother's room." It was merely a statement of fact, no indignance or animosity behind it.

Katara looked at her room, thinking about the woman who had used it before her. Though she knew it might be a touchy subject, her curiosity got a hold of her and she asked, "What was she like?"

Zuko stayed quiet for a few minutes, contemplating the question.

"I remember running here in the morning to make sure she was awake so that we could go to the beach. She'd always find the best seashells, but that wasn't the only reason. I just wanted to be with her, you know?" His fingers traced the door.

"We can go in if you want," Katara said softly, eying the prince with her ears open. He said nothing but the atmosphere immediately changed, charged with apprehension and anticipation.

"One day we found this huge white conch shell-well my mom found it but she always told me I had-and as we were taking it back to the house, this big hermit crab started poking out. I screamed and dropped it, but that was only from surprise," he continued speaking, adding the last bit when he saw Katara hiding a laugh. He paused for a moment, hand on the door, then walked in.

"I remember my mother laughing at me, then picking up the shell and showing me the crab was harmless in the air. I think because of that I got over the shock and begged her to let me take it home. She said she'd think about it and that we'd talk about it the next morning; until then the crab remained with her-as soon as the sun rose the next day I ran here to make sure she hadn't released the crab back out...I was so afraid that she had, but she didn't."

Zuko walked around the room as he spoke, touching various things, things Katara had barely noticed. A framed picture of a sunset. A chink in the mirror on the dresser. The dusty surface of the table beside the bed. And finally, the bed.

With outstretched fingers, Zuko brushed the surface of the pillow, his expression inscrutable. Katara tried to imagine the former Fire Lady as she must have been, sleeping in the bed, woken up by her energetic son. The picture in her mind was worth a thousand words, but the one of the present had none. Katara put a hand on Zuko's shoulder, watching him watch countless memories in his head.

* * *

"You okay?"

"...Yeah. I'm okay."

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Sokka asked as what was left of the Gaang ate breakfast. They gave him looks of disbelief.

"What?" he asked.

"Well...you _are _the guy with the plans," Katara pointed out, gesturing with the bread that had been found in the Royal Pantry.

"So? I can't come up with EVERYTHING on my own-"

"There's nothing to come up with," Aang broke in, his mouth full of fruit. Everyone looked at him. Swallowing, he continued, "We stay here until the next invasion. That's all there is to it."

"That works," Toph yawned, stretching back.

"Toph! Feet off the table!" Katara shrieked, horrified.

"I don't wanna..."

* * *

"Let's go shopping!" Katara squealed once everyone had finished their breakfast. She was greeted with blank stares.

"What? We need food, and we ate whatever was left in the kitchen for breakfast so let's go! It'll be fun!"

"She's right," Suki said. "Besides, I need Fire Nation clothes."

Sokka perked up. "In that case, I'd better accompany you two ladies to make sure nothing happens..."

Toph snorted. "Cut the act, Snoozles. We all know you just want to go to see Fan Girl in those skimpy Fire Nation clothes."

Said Snoozles turned red as everyone snickered at him. "I'll go to make sure he stays out of trouble," Aang grinned, standing up.

"Oh I'm not missing this," Toph declared, stretching her arms.

Only one person was left. Everyone looked expectantly at Zuko, waiting. He glanced around.

"Am I supposed to come?" he asked.

Katara scoffed. "Of course! Besides, you're probably the only one who knows even remotely where everything is."

"But what about my face? I don't think there are going to be people walking around with scars everywhere."

* * *

"Why are there so many people with scars on their faces?" Zuko asked in disbelief. Yes, he had been convinced to go and the Gaang stood together in shock as men of various ages walked by with scarred faces.

"It's not just you, look! There are people with my arrow tattoos too!" the young Avatar cried indignantly.

"And..._are those supposed to be my hair loopies?_" the Gaang shivered as an aura of death surrounded one of their members.

Before anyone else could find doppelgangers of themselves, an odd looking man stepped up to them.

"Oh my goodness, are you the actor for Prince Zuko in the play later today? You look JUST like him...You _must _tell me who does your makeup."

The banished, or should we say, baffled Fire Prince's jaw dropped. Before he could say anything, the man glanced at the sun.

"Alas, I'm late for an engagement of mine-I'll see you at the play?" He walked off without waiting for an answer.

"Erm...what the heck was that?" Suki asked. Zuko's eye twitched.

"Hey guys over here!" Sokka waved them over to a store window. "This must be the play the man was talking about!"

"Uh, what is? Blind girl here," Toph said impatiently.

"Listen to this. 'The Boy in the Iceberg' is a new production from acclaimed playwright Pu Wan Tin, who scoured the globe gathering information about the Avatar. From the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se, his sources include singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war, and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage. Brought to you by the critically acclaimed Ember Island players."

Zuko snorted. "The Ember Island players? We used to go see them every summer when we were here. They totally butchered 'Love Amongst the Dragons'!"

"'Love Amongst the Dragons'?" Katara asked, raising her eyebrow. The firebender blushed as he rushed to defend himself: "It's a good play, all right? Respect the classics."

"All that aside," Sokka said pointedly, "let's go see the play! Wouldn't it be cool to see our lives on a stage?"

* * *

"I can't believe you guys actually convinced me to come," Zuko said, shaking his head as the Gaang walked up the theater stairs to a special area on the balcony.

"Oh suck it up, Zuko. Who knows? It may even be fun," Katara said lightly, stroking her hair as she sat down. The firebender sat next to her without much thought and no one cared or noticed except the last airbender. He started to say something then stopped, looking away, trying to convince himself to stop being so paranoid.

"Hey, quick thought," Sokka started, addressing the group. "Does anyone know who this 'surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage' is?"

"Nope," everyone chorused. He frowned. "I sure hope he isn't some stalker..."

"But the name does sound familiar, doesn't it?" Aang mused. Everyone murmured their agreement.

"Shh guys! It's about to start!" Toph shushed everyone, straining with her impeccable hearing.

The crowd quieted, and as if on cue, the lights dimmed and the curtains moved aside.

"How did you know, Toph?" Sokka whispered loudly. In return he got elbowed in his stomach.

"Idiot! I can't exactly _see _what's going on, so I'm using my ears!"

"Oh. Right."

"Be quiet! Sokka, it's us!" Katara squealed pointing at the stage. Indeed, sitting in a canoe where their actors, acting out the day they met Aang.

However, a couple lines into the play and the two Water Tribe siblings were stumped.

"This guy is horrible! My jokes aren't that bad!"

"And I don't sound like that! I've never given such a sappy soliloquy in my life!"

Toph however, thought otherwise. As everyone else struggled to hide their laughs from the two siblings, she delivered it to them straight: "This writer's a genius! Those actors captured you two perfectly!"

Katara frowned, but was stopped from making further comments by a bright light that appeared on stage. Aang grinned in anticipation as he waited for himself to appear.

"Who are you, frozen boy?" Actress Katara asked in exaggerated wonder.

Actor (?) Aang giggled and said in a feminine voice, "I'm the Avatar silly! Here to spread joy and fun!"

"Hold on. Is that a _girl _playing me?" Aang asked in disbelief. Before anyone could answer him, "Appa" appeared on stage-"And _that's _supposed to be _Appa_?"-and the "boy"'s bending abilities were revealed.

Aang snorted indignantly, and groaned after his portrayal made an awful prank. "I don't _do _that! And I'm not a WOMAN!"

"Hah hah! They NAILED you, Twinkle Toes," Toph informed him. He scoffed, while everyone else laughed.

"Zuko's" entrance with the over-exaggerated emphasis on regaining his honor, called for silence.

"I knew it; the players are still as bad as they were back then. I mean, obviously, that actor is nothing like me," Zuko scoffed, crossing his arms. This time, Katara was the one to correct him.

"I don't know Zuko, I think that actor is doing a pretty good job, considering."

"Considering what?"

"Oh nothing. Zuzu." Before Zuko could retaliate even more, Sokka shoved a peach into his mouth from behind.

"Shh Zuko! Here comes Momo!"

The play progressed on, with interruptions by the Gaang ("...You stole a scroll because it gave you 'so much hope'? No wonder you were so easy to beat." "Shut up Zuko. And technically, in the end we beat _you_." / "Sugar Queen, your taste in men has gotten progressively worse-from Haru to Jet? 'Oh Jet, you're _so bad_..." "Just wait till YOU come on the stage." / "You never told me you made out with the moon spirit, Sokka. Even if I'm your girlfriend, I still have to say it-score!" "SHHHH I'M TRYING TO WATCH *hisss*") until a rather perky Aang in the Avatar state 'crushed' the Fire Nation ships at the north pole and the play came to intermission.

The teens retired to some steps on a back entrance for the fifteen minute break.

"This writer is horrible! He didn't capture me at all! I'm not some glutton who's only speciality is some bad jokes about meat!" Sokka fumed, munching on some jerky. Suki snorted. "That's not you at all..."

"And I'm not some preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overemotional speeches about hope all the time, either," Katara stated, leaning back. Everyone gave her a look.

"What?"

"At least your actors look like you! I'm shown as a girl!" Aang said indignantly, clutching at his head.

"I don't know Aang; you are more in touch with your feminine side than most guys," Toph said, raising a hand as the young Avatar started protesting, "Besides, I hate to tell you guys, but what you see up there is the truth."

As Zuko started to mumble something, the blind earthbender proceeded to punch him in the stomach.

"We are NOT leaving until the play is finished! Especially not before I come in."

* * *

"Hold on a second. I sound like...a guy. A really really buff guy." The Gaang snickered.

"Well, Toph, what's up there is the truth. Hurts, doesn't it?" Katara felt the need to intervene.

"Are you kidding me? I'm the best part! I wouldn't have cast it any other way!"

Suki smiled. "Well at least someone's happy..."

* * *

"Oh wait, what's that over there? I think it's your HONOR," Azula 2 gasped, pointing.

"WHERE?" Zuko 2 practically sobbed, spinning around.

"I gotta agree with Toph here, Zuzu-the writer got you pretty well," Katara said, barely able to contain her laughs.

"Ha ha Katara, very funny."

"Awww, did I make Prince Zuko sulk?" The water bender cooed in a baby voice. 'Prince Zuko' glared, and she patted him on the head. "Good boy."

* * *

"Did Jet just...die?" Zuko wondered out loud.

"You know, it was really unclear," Sokka said, stroking imaginary whiskers. Katara looked away, her eyes closing for the briefest second.

* * *

And then, the moment they both knew they'd have to face.

The catacombs of Ba Sing Se.

A peculiar feeling of dread formed in the bellies of Air, Fire, and Water as they looked on.

"I have to admit Prince Zuko: I really find you attractive," Katara 2 said in a sultry voice.

Zuko 2 glared at her through crossed arms. "You don't have to make fun of me!"

Katara 2 smiled even more. "But I _mean _it-I've had eyes for you since the day you first captured me."

A certain airbender's eyebrows furrowed and he stole a glance at Zuko and Katara to see how they were reacting. They had spread a bit farther apart from each other, but other than that, no noticeable shift. In fact, they seemed to be watching the play rather intently. Aang frowned, and the events on stage drew him back.

"Wait, I thought you were the Avatar's girl," Zuko 2 accused. The young airbender gave a little nod, his face stern. Katara 2 threw a laugh into the air.

"The _Avatar_? Why, he's like a little brother to me!"

Up in the nosebleed section, Katara swallowed.

Katara 2 laughed again. "I certainly don't think of him in a _romantic _way."

Aang's frown deepened. He had had enough, but strangely, he wanted to stay and see what else took place. He glanced at the two benders in question again. Katara was rubbing her arm and diverting her eyes, Zuko had retreated farther under his hood.

The Avatar wasn't sure how he felt about that.

* * *

"I hate you for all time!" A cracking voice screamed at the old man on stage. Zuko's eyes widened as he covered his face with a hand.

"You didn't say those things," a soft voice told him. He stared at her, hurt and guilt and shame in his eyes.

"I might as well have," he whispered back hoarsely.

* * *

After the second intermission, the Gaang was starting to get tired. "I gave my actor some tips-hopefully they'll show," Sokka informed everyone.

This time, Aang sat up with Sokka and Suki, staring at Katara's back.

* * *

This time, the play went on without any more breaks. Sokka got his sword and Combustion Man died. The play stuck to the real events, more or less. At least, until the beginning of the invasion came.

"Aang, I'll always love you...as a brother," Katara 2 gushed.

"I wouldn't want it any other way!" Aang 2 replied cheerfully.

Pause. Notice the reactions.

Katara: Confused as hell.

Aang: Starting to doubt.

Zuko: Wants to believe he is indifferent to all this, remembers he has (or had) Mai, but still feels strangely light.

Play.

Aang buried his head in his arms for the upteenth time. The show had ceased to entertain him a while ago. However, when Zuko joined the group, he looked up, wondering what would happen next, if anything.

"Well, I guess that's in then. The play's caught up to the present," Sokka said, standing up and stretching. A slightly annoyed Suki pulled him back down, saying that the play wasn't over yet. The Gaang continued watching, with more than a little bit of confusion.

In short, what happened was this:

Zuko fought Azula, and lost. Zuko, the one with the scar on the left (and right) side, stared, thoughts racing through his head. _ Would Azula, my own baby sister do that to me? Would she be happy to do it? She is somewhat evil but in the end she's my own flesh and blood...Would I even be _able _to fight her?_

Aang fought Ozai, and also lost. His eyes narrowed and he tried not to think about when he would actually have to face the Fire Lord, because deep down, he was still scared.

The rousing applause startled the teens out of their shock. One by one, they filed out of the theater and into the lobby, where they decided to stay for a couple of minutes to gather their nerves and rest a bit.

"That...wasn't a very good play," Sokka declared. "I thought it would be better. I blame false advertising."

Suki rolled her eyes. "Well, we are in the Fire Nation-of course they're going to twist things to suit their own evil desires-no offense, Zuko."

The firebender shrugged. "None taken; I agree. Even their rendition 'Love Amongst the Dragons' was better."

As everyone laughed, Aang looked away and muttered something about getting some snacks. He quickly left, not headed anywhere near the concession stand. Katara noticed, and gave him five minutes. When he still hadn't returned, she started to go after him, when a warm hand on her bare shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

"Zuko?" she questioned, looking at his face. His gold eyes watched her back, and offered the answer, "Maybe he wants to be alone for a bit." She bit her lip and stayed, concentrating on the scarred boy.

"You don't seem your usual cheerful self, Sparky. What's wrong?" she asked him, smirking at his annoyance.

"What makes you think something is wrong, Sugar Queen?" he shot back. She smiled and closed her eyes, and it was her turn to put a hand on his shoulder. After a couple of minutes, Zuko said "That play just...it took every mistake I ever made, multiplied them by 100 and threw them back in my face." Katara didn't speak for a while. Finally she asked, "What mistakes?"

The Fire Prince practically exploded. "Don't pretend you don't see, Katara. You of all people should know-"

"What do you mean me of all people?"

Zuko looked away. "All those mistakes in Ba Sing Se, for example. Practically murdering my uncle, fighting against _you_..."

Katara smiled softly, and turned his face towards her. His eyes were dry, but that just made it all the easier to see the pain in them. "Zuko, I've already forgiven you for that. Don't think for a second that I haven't. And all those 'mistakes' made you who you are today-an amazing, powerful, determined bender who joined the side of good and is helping to end the worst war the world has ever seen."

He looked at her, wanting so hard to believe her words. And then came the clincher.

"I'm glad you made all those 'mistakes'," she said, grinning at him. He closed his eyes and let her hand stay on his face-on his scar. Katara watched his scar, practically marveling at its deep red color. This feels like Ba Sing Se, she thought absently, then her eyes widened.

"Why isn't Aang back?" she muttered to herself, looking around. Zuko's eyes opened. "What?" he asked her, but she wasn't listening. "I'm going to go find him," she said to no one in particular and ran off.

Zuko watched her retreating back, severely annoyed for a reason he couldn't exactly place. A sudden laugh from Toph a couple feet away startled him.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked heatedly. Toph just shook her head, still grinning.

* * *

Katara, knowing Aang the best out of everyone, had a pretty good idea where he had gone and why he had gone there (or so she thought). She found him, as she had expected, on a secluded balcony overlooking the ocean and the large moon that hung above it.

"Aang, everyone's waiting for you," she said gently, walking up to him. He was leaning on the balcony, and barely spared her a glance.

"If you're worried because of the play, don't be. Ozai has got nothing against you and you have something that he doesn't-us," Katara told him, sounding more confident than she felt. He nodded, but went on to ask a question she had hoped he wouldn't.

"Katara, was that play accurate?"

"Of course not, Aang," she said, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. He went on.

"After the Day of Black Sun, I thought things would be different between us. I thought that kiss would change everything, but it hasn't. Everything's still the same...why?" he looked at her, but she stayed silent.

"Katara?" He waited for her to tell him...what?

She finally met his gaze, but her eyes were strange.

"Aang, I...I'm just a little confused," she said, looking back out at the ocean with sad eyes.

What do you have to be confused about?"

"Well...we're in the middle of a war, Aang. It's not exactly the best time to be arguing or even thinking about such things," Katara said, looking at him, surprised at his anger.

"So when will it be the right time?"

"Aang-"

"It's Zuko, isn't it," he interrupted, shocking them both. When she didn't exactly contradict him, his eyes narrowed and his mouth went in a line.

"Aang, I don't know, I'm confused about everything-" she was stopped with a pair of lips on her own. She pulled back, horrified. And Aang knew he had messed everything up.

"I just said I was confused," she told him monotonously, and ran away, her head in a whirlwind of thoughts.

_When Aang brought up Zuko, everything just froze...is he right? Is it because of Zuko I don't feel what I'm supposed to for Aang? But why is it even that _I'm _supposed to be with Aang? What do _I _want?_

When the Gaang came in sight, Katara slowed to a walk and did her best to compose herself in front of her friends. Before they could ask anything, she said calmly that Aang would be joining them soon. Zuko took one look at her face and saw her unshed tears, but didn't want to ask anything in front of the Gaang. And especially not when Aang came back, looking just as shaken.

The Gaang walked back to the vacation home, two chatting happily, three walking silently, each in their own thoughts, and one feeling them all.

* * *

**Well that was nice. :D I'm glad Katara forgave Zuko because I have a LOT of nice wittle Zutara interactions to put in here. I hope I captured everyone, especially Aang, okayish. I don't know. FEEDBACK PEOPLE. Please?**

**And I think I'm going to decide on monthly updates (at the LATEST). Just know that the next chapter should be up before this day next month, especially because of the laptop in my possession now XD.**

**Thank you for sticking with me. See y'all in the next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ello there! X3 How's everybody? I know how I am-FEELING PRETTY DAMN GOOD. I met a deadline, I met a deadline-AGAIN! I didn't even MEET it! This is like, barely two weeks after the last chapter! (Excuse me for bragging)**

**This chapter is important to this story, but it could be something separate I guess...it's ALL Zutara. Like I couldn't write a single sentence without squealing. Fluffy, I guess...but also not really.**

**Shutting up now.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA but owning this story is enough. For now. hehehehe.**

* * *

It had been a long, long day, and all Zuko wanted was to sleep. He prayed to Agni he would have no dreams, especially of the play.

The play.

It confused him to no end. He knew it was nowhere _near _accurate, of course.

So why did he kind of want it to be?

He swore silently and told himself that thinking these kinds of thoughts was not going to help him fall asleep. Remembering tricks his uncle had taught him, Zuko slowed his breathing until he slipped into a light doze.

And then the mighty dragon was awoken from his slumber by mere footsteps. The house was a bit old, and the floors creaked. So did the doors.

Curiosity won over his annoyance and he wondered who would be awake and about at this hour. He counted to ten slowly then quietly slipped out of his bed, taking care to avoid the creaky spots on the floor. He contemplated pulling on a shirt but decided against it-he didn't plan on letting the person know he was there.

Zuko left his room and made his way down the hall and to the front door. One advantage of visiting the house so many times: he knew what spots to avoid. When he got outside and saw just how late it was-the moon was at its brightest-he asked himself in no simple terms just why the hell he was following some person like a stalker.

Then he saw the footprints on the sand. Not small, like Aang's or Toph's, but not very large either. And they were clearly feminine. The tracker in him instantly recognized whose they were.

_Why would Katara be awake and outside?_

* * *

Now his behavior didn't seem so strange to him. Looking up, he could barely make her out by the shore. Wanting to know what she was doing there (and more than a bit aware of what most people did in the middle of the night when standing so close to the waves), he hurried to get nearer and to hide himself behind a tree thirty or so feet away.

Peeping through the branches, he noticed her staring out at the ocean (and her lack of clothes-hey, in the Fire Nation, it was totally normal for people to sleep in their underwear, he reasoned). After several minutes with no change in her posture, Zuko contemplated making his presence known when she raised a hand in front of her.

A thin strand of water rose from the waves and followed her hand as she waved it around, her eyes staring at it in concentration. She continued moving it around for a few seconds, then without looking away from her bending, her left hand drew forth some more water until she was bending both coils around her simulatenously.

Zuko watched, not wanting to disturb the beauty he was witnessing. He watched as she drew up more water, combining the strands into thicker tendrils. He watched as her movements grew more frenzied. He watched as she created a wall of roaring water, like a water tornado, around her, with her as its eye. He watched, completely awed, until he saw her sobbing.

Tentatively (he forced himself to move slowly), he walked out from behind the tree and called out her name. Katara didn't seem to notice, so he walked closer until he was right at the beginning of the fray and she still didn't acknowledge him.

Somewhat worried, Zuko stuck his hand through the wall-and only his instincts saved him from being impaled from the ice shards that formed from the water.

At least he got Katara to look up at him. When she saw his shocked face, she sighed, and dropped her arms, the water liquifying and falling.

"What the hell was that?" he asked heatedly. He almost regretted sounding so harsh, but Katara didn't seem affected.

"Nothing, just some bending practice," she said, trying to wipe her eyes discreetly. He wasn't convinced, but he wanted her to tell him herself.

"At this hour?"

"Yes, 'at this hour'. Got a problem with that Sparky?"

"Aren't you tired?

"Couldn't sleep."

"So you came out to bend. What, were you hoping to fall asleep on the beach?"

"Of course n-How stupid do you think I am?"

"Well..."

"I wish Jet hadn't died."

Zuko stopped short. He stayed silent and watched her, waiting for her to continue.

"Our meetings, after he almost destroyed that village (which I did NOT support), were always ambivalent. We saw him in Ba Sing Se when Appa ws missing and he offered to help us. I didn't believe him, but Aang made me swallow my pride so we could see what he had to say. It turned out he was being brainwashed by the Dai Li, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was he was so confused and in trying to help us, he..." Katara's voice caught and here eyes moistened again but she continued.

"Looking back on that entire ordeal, my biggest regret is that I didn't forgive him before he died-which I'm not even sure happened. I wish he knew," she whispered and met Zuko's eyes. Hers were sad but content found its way inside them when she said "I'm glad I didn't make that mistake with you, Zuko."

He hesitated but only for an instant, barely missing a beat. "What mistake?" he asked, grinning.

Her eyes widened in understanding, but she still couldn't resist coming closer to swat him, smiling in evil delight.

Before she could step away, before she could even register what was going on, the firebender who had come to mean more to her than she could've ever imagined pulled her in close for a tight embrace, whispering "It's my turn," in her ear.

Katara tensed a little, then let herself relax in his arms, if only for a little bit. She let herself forget about Aang, the war, and the world for just a minute. Then the small doldrum they made for themselves broke as they pulled apart, looking around awkwardly.

Katara suddenly remembered the girl with the knives, and for the life of her, she would never know why she had to bring her up at that moment.

"What about...I mean...what's the deal with Mai? The play said she was there at the Boiling Rock but..." she trailed off, mentally throwing herself against a wall. When Zuko didn't say anything immediately, she hurried to tell him to ignore her stupidity. She had barely stuttered out an apology when he looked out towards the moon.

"It's...complicated," he said hoarsely. Without looking away from the sand between her toes, Katara murmured "I know." Her voice quieted until Zuko had to strain to hear her.

"At the theater, when I found Aang, he kissed me." Her expression did not change, thus she did not see Zuko's fists clench. Just as well, because if she had, she would have seen the jealousy and anger on his face and then he'd have some explaining to do.

Trying to hid his bitterness, he tentatively asked "Isn't that a good thing?"

Katara's head snapped up and here eyes met his head on.

"I don't know. I don't know what or who I want. I don't know what it's supposed to be anymore."

As soon as she said it, she realized it was the truth. She didn't know. It was all so complicated and yet so simple-

_The answer was right in front of her._

As if he had just arrived at the same conclusion as her, they both noticed how close they were. He leaned in, she hurried to follow, gradually coming closer until they realized just _what the heck they were doing, _and sharply leaned back.

Their hearts pumping furiously, Zuko rubbed his neck and Katara her arm, in an attempt to brush away the awkwardness.

"...See you in the morning," he said shortly and glad to be dismissed, she mumbled something similar. They both headed in opposite direction, Zuko taking care to use the back entrance.

As he walked back to the house, he tried to block out the voice of Lo (or was it Li?) in his mind.

_"Ember Island is a magical place...Like waves washing away the footprints on the sand, Ember Island gives everyone a clean slate. Ember Island reveals the _true you_..."_

* * *

**Fin. Thank you, thank you very much. :D :D :D :D Did you like that? I hoped you did; I'm not sure how I feel about it.**

**I can just hear you all cursing the lack of a kiss XD. And now we will return to following the storyline...I think...Ah whatever. Just review already XD.**

**And a note to my ANONYMOUS readers: I wish I could thank you all in a message. So many of you give such amazing feedback...I appreciate you, I really do.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello there! How y'all doing?**

**XD**

**All that aside, here is chapter 9 of The Color Red. Let the "ZOMG THIS IS SO LATE *SHOOT THE UNWORTHY DOG*" s commence. XD.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Written-Parody, for dedicating so many things to me (Seriously-love) and like cyber spanking me to get this written and posted, and to my anon reviewer Unu for her amazing review-hope this isn't **_**too **_**late ;).**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ATLA or Mohsen Yeganeh's amazing voice.**

* * *

The next day proceeded normally, in the eyes of the Gaang. Breakfast was served, and in the brief period of relaxation that followed, Sokka illustrated the day's plan for them.

Good thing Toph was blind. Zuko and Katara were giving off so many different vibrations, even though they sat at opposite ends of the courtyard, that Toph wanted to butt their heads together and tell them to shut up.

She had barely gotten any sleep last night because of those two. It was unforgiveable. She tuned back in to Sokka, if only to take her mind off the two benders giving her so much strife (and they didn't even _know _it, the bastards).

"To start off the day, we're going to have some more sparring sessions-" cue protest from everyone except Zuko "-but not for long. Hopefully, by the afternoon you'll all be free to do whatever the heck you want. Geez," Sokka said, holding his hands up in protest. "They're so lazy," he stage-whispered to Suki, who giggled and rolled her eyes.

"So first up will be-"

"Zuko and Katara."

Sokka stared at Toph in annoyance but she paid him no mind.

They were going to pay dearly for her lack of rest.

"Excuse me, _Rocky_, but last time I checked-"

"Oh get over it, Snoozles. You were going to have them fight together sometime today anyway. Don't even try to pretend otherwise."

Sokka harrumphed, but mentiond for the two fighters to commence.

Katara stood and stretched, careful to keep her heart off her sleeve. Stripping to her under garments, she squeezed her eyes.

_Spirits, help me get through this._

She hadn't forgotten the events of last night. Or the events of the past several months. She knew she would have to make a choice and _soon_.

Why was it all so complicated?

Zuko followed suit and took off his loose red shirt, watching her closely. To the rest of the Gaang, she looked normal, but he could tell she was thinking and fighting and struggling to hide everything under her normal expression: clear eyes, raised eyebrows and a slight smile.

But oh, were her eyes dirty.

He knew she was thinking on last night and their words and actions. He knew she was fighting _what if's _and _they think's _and _what I want's _and _what they want's_. He knew she had to make the Gaang think everything was fine and normal and nothing had changed. Between her or anyone else. Because otherwise they would worry and ask questions and he could tell she wouldn't be able to handle all that.

He knew all this and yet he wished he didn't. Because he was going through the same thing-he was just better at hiding it.

As she gathered her water, Zuko marveled at her strength. And not just her physical capabilities. Katara was probably the strongest person he had ever known, and he doubted he would meet anyone more so.

Who else could put her own feelings of want and need aside like no big deal? Who else could firmly say no the way she did?

She attacked first and he could see it in her eyes; she wanted to get the "training" over with. She didn't have the energy to fight, not after what she knew she would have to do. He blocked and countered half-heartedly, watching her strength unfold in his mind.

She had survived her mother's death, had shown mercy in the face of the killer, and had forgiven the Fire Prince. She was always there with a smile, no matter how bad things got, and a hug was always ready for whoever needed it. She knew what to say in any situation and could smooth things over or kick someone's deserving ass. She offered comfort and love to all and shrugged off her own needs, but Zuko had to wonder when it would all become too much.

Everyone had a breaking point, and he thought her's had been last night on the shore, but her eyes today told him she wasn't done pushing her pain aside. She might be a sparkling, rushing river, but there were too many dams being built. All that pressure built up, and would release.

And he knew, _soon_.

To keep up the normal facade for the Gaang, he sent some easy-to-doge flames and insults at her, watching her carefully all the time. The insults were enough to earn some retorts, and he smiled to see her smirking as a wave of water pushed him to the ground.

Snapping back up, he quickly shot some fireballs, maybe a little harder than was necessary. He had his pride, and she had to wake up. He didn't want to see her moping or holding it all in-he wanted to see her angry, alive, and he wanted her to let it all out.

Katara's instincts barely helped her to dodge the firebender's surprisingly fierce attack. She almost thanked him for the challenge, and with a cry, sent ice daggers racing towards the boy-or the man?-who had come to be her biggest source of confusion. All the feelings she had felt and continued to feel towards him-hate, pity, sympathy, irritation, elation-made her want to explode.

And as she watched him send flames towards her, in all his shirtless glory, she felt...natural.

And her darn hormones certainly weren't helping. Oh she'd seen him shirtless countless times before (and blushed every single time), but this?

It was his eyes. They held humor and a challenge. They were serious and warm and-was it?-just a bit sad. They bore into her, making her feel like her soul was bare before him, that he knew everything.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Aang's face and his wide eyes. And everything collapsed.

Fighting back her tears, she sent her frustration into a single attack-she bent all the water she could-from the air, from her sweat, from her original supply-and thundered it all down on Zuko. Before he could recover, sputtering indignant curses at her (she tried not to smile because she knew if she did, her lips would tug at her heart and the tears would come gushing out of the hole that resulted), she froze the water around his limbs and bent a dagger over his neck.

No matter how much she tried not to look at him, his eyes found hers. His golden eyes held questions and his slightly furrowed brow as he took her in silently made her lips tremble. Dazed, she was scarcely aware of Sokka announcing her as the winner and telling Zuko he'd have five minutes to rest before he fought Aang (to Zuko's vehement protests-she caught an analogy comparing himself to a fight dog in there to which her brother replied condescendingly, "You should be glad I'm even giving you so much-during the invasion your opponents certainly won't give you anything resembling a break. Unless they're breaking your bones. Or if you're about to kill them." Oh, Sokka).

She was very aware, however, when Aang came up to her with a grin on his face and sad hope in his eyes.

"Congratulations, Katara!" he beamed up at her and inhaling slowly, gave her a wary hug. She hesitated only for a bit, then gingerly hugged him back, breathing in his scent.

His scent.

Oh, Yue.

Nostalgia attacked her like a butterfly-wasp, and she remembered all the previous times she had been in his arms. She was either saving his life or he was making her laugh.

He was her friend. He was maybe her _best friend _and Katara asked herself how she could ever make him sad. Were the months they had known each other good for nothing? This was the boy she had saved from the iceberg, this was the boy who had always made her smile, the boy she practically had memorized, this was the boy who showed off for her whenever he could, this was the boy who _loved _her. Could she really be so selfish as to _not _choose him?

_It wouldn't be that hard_, she told herself._ I can love him. I _do _love him_. She hugged him back harder.

But not as a lover. As if in agreement, a pair of flashing golden eyes quickly passed over her mind.

_I'm sorry, Aang...I'm sorry...Zuko._

Aang almost gasped when he felt Katara's squeeze. His eyes grew wide and he pulled away, giving her such a brilliant smile she wanted to weep. She attempted to smile back but he had already turned away to chat with Zuko.

Who had witnessed it all.

* * *

Toph's feet had started to ache with all they had felt. She spit into the dirt, congratulated Sugar Queen for putting Sparky in his place, and allowed herself to kill them all in her head. Why couldn't they just do what they wanted to and stop abusing her poor feet?

She could feel Katara's pain and her attempts at hiding it. She could feel Zuko's confusion, jealousy, surprise, and desire. She could feel Aang's ecstatic hope that Katara had 'returned'. The blind girl almost chuckled as Zuko and Aang prepared to spar.

_Things were about to get interesting._

* * *

Zuko could hardly believe his eyes when he saw Katara and Aang embrace. If the Gaang hadn't gone to see the Ember Island Players, he wouldn't have cared so much.

But they _had _gone. And Katara had confided in him and they had shared moments that made his skin tingle and his heart soar. And he had come to terms with his feelings.

About Mai.

About Katara? Not so much.

At least he was used to the stab of jealousy that attacked him as Aang hugged her. But when she hugged him _back_?

He wanted to scream, to remind her she wasn't sure of anything. _You told me you didn't know who you wanted!_ he accused her in his mind. And then he wanted to scream at himself, appalled at his thoughts and to ask just _what _was wrong with him? He wasn't even sure what _he _wanted, he didn't dictate her decisions, she could do whatever she wanted, it was just a _hug _for Agni's sake, never mind that the two had kissed before...

The stab turned into a punch.

To make matters worse, Aang had a big freaking grin on his face when he turned and prepared to fight him.

"You ready, Sifu Hotman?"

The kid was way too happy. It was all Zuko could do to control himself and give a noncommittal grunt in response.

"Begin!" Sokka hollered and all hell broke loose.

Well, not entirely. It started out innocently enough; Zuko punched fire at the young boy, and he flew out of the way, sending some flames back. The prince practically scoffed as he easily blocked and retaliated with a huge fireball. Aang dodged again, but this time before he could attack, Zuko was nearly on him, snarling and shooting quick, small flames from his palms. The younger boy yelped and barely deflected the attacks as he was forced to retreat.

It wasn't so much as he didn't have the ability to, Zuko knew. It was that Aang didn't expect this kind of fury from one of his friends.

He started to feel a little ashamed when he saw Aang's scared and bewildered face as the younger boy stumbled backwards and bent air in a shield around himself.

Then he noticed Katara's hand clenched into a fist and the other one moving slowly, water following it towards the "battle." Her eyes were fixed on Aang.

Any feelings of shame or pity for the airbender burned away. With another growl, his lip curled back, his jaw clenched, and his eyes comparable to hell, he sent a storm of fire towards the Avatar.

Aang gulped, but narrowed his eyes and brought up a wall of rock, completely deflecting the flames. Jumping up, his directed his own formidable blast of fire at the Fire Prince.

Zuko almost smiled. He had taught him well.

Not missing a beat, he shot a long stream of fire at a space above Aang's head. The young airbender miscalculated and dropped to the ground.

His opponent was ready.

Flames licked at his tattooed feet, and the boy cried out in shock more than pain. Katara's incredulous, angry gasp was the only thing the firebender heard.

Emotion raged inside him like an angry ocean, and he wanted to scream his frustration. At what, he wasn't sure. Maybe it was because Aang always got all of the attention. Maybe it was because everything always seemed his fault.

Maybe it was because the hero always gets the girl.

With a lump in his throat, he gave a hoarse cry and charged. Aang bounded backwards, hissing whenever his feet touched the ground.

Somehow the two found themselves in the vacation home. As Zuko sent yet another powerful blast of fire at him, Aang realized they were in a corridor and he was trapped. He didn't want fight Zuko. Not like this.

"Enough."

The Avatar's firm and angry voice made Zuko stop in his tracks. Just as well, because right after, a blast of air so strong his breath was knocked right out of him blew him out of the house and onto the sand in front of the Gaang.

In front of Katara.

Spitting out sand that had found its way into his mouth, he started to get up when her voice cut through.

"What the HELL was that?" Zuko spit some more in response.

"What is WRONG with you? What were you _thinking_? You were trying to-_did_-incinerate Aang! I don't know about everyone else, but when we let you join our _family_, there certainly wasn't anything in there about letting you hurt him. _Again_."

She glared at him in genuine rage and he wanted to scream. Again.

The rest of the Gaang stared at him speechless, and he was vaguely aware of Aang returning to them.

"Well?" Katara put her hands on her hips, her eyes as deadly as ever. She noticed Aang's presence and remembered his feet.

"Like burning people's feet a lot, don't you Zuko?" she seethed, walking over to the airbender.

And was burned instead by his eyes. She almost stopped. Almost.

But Yue, were his eyes _angry_.

It was as if Agni himself had manifested as little orbs of fire instead of little orbs of water in place of Zuko's eyes.

"You don't know anything," he muttered, so quietly only she could hear. His expression terrified and excited her, incensed and pleased her.

Sputtering, she attempted to yell at him once again, but he just waved her off and spun on his heel and stalked away.

Everyone stared in silence.

"I got him," Toph yawned and stood, stretching her arms. She left before anyone could object, almost laughing at Katara's pounding heart.

* * *

She found him on the other side of the vacation home, leaning against a coconut tree and whittling a small branch with a knife.

He saw her, but said nothing, not even when she sat down next to him, absently playing with the sand.

They remained quiet for a few more minutes and Toph felt his anger draining away slowly.

"Well." She was getting impatient. "Never thought we'd have a romantic drama playing on our hands."

Zuko grunted. "Between Sokka and Suki?"

She snorted. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Sparky," she retorted, punching his arm. Before he could stammer out anything, she stood up and faced him, hands on her hips.

"I'm not blind, Zuko. Yeah, I can't see this," she waved her hand in front of her face, "but I can see _this_." She poked Zuko's chest.

"And I can see Katara's. And _let me tell you something_. Before you went all psycho on Aang, Katara's heart seemed resigned. Heavy. Like she regretted something. But then she just got pissed. I'll bet you a thousand gold coins though, Fire Prince, that after Sugar Queen cools down, her heart will feel just the same as it did before. Something happened to change her, something big, something recent."

Zuko blinked, stunned. Katara's open smile, her infuriating smirk, her murderous glare, and her closed eyes filled his vision for a second.

"B...Kat-..." he started to stammer out but stopped. Zuko had no words.

Toph punched him again. Then, as if to the side, she remarked "Although you still didn't have to attack Aang that furiously. Everyone's trying to relax a bit, after all."

Something clicked in his mind and he stared at her, incredulous.

"Wh-Sozin's Comet is _four days _away! Relax? Are you planning to _surrender _or something?"

The earthbender turned and gave him a weird look, addressing his elbow. "Didn't anyone tell you? Aang's not going to save the world until after the comet-your daddy already has everything under his control; there isn't much more we can do. So the plan is to wait for the comet to pass, all scary firebending waited out, and _then _attack."

Zuko stared at her in horror. She felt his heart slowing down, then speeding up alarmingly.

"What?"

" 'What'? You want to know what? My father plans to go _all out _on Sozin's Comet. He told everyone at a war meeting I attended before I joined you. He plans to use the comet's destructive firepower to burn the entire world-and have it emerge as a new one, everyone that survived under him-'The Phoenix King'. If you don't stop him before the comet, there will only be ashes to save. He's gone crazy."

Toph's eyes widened and she paled-sure signs this was serious.

"This... is not good," she finally managed, pulling him up forcefully. "We have to tell the others."

She practically pushed him in front, yelling at him to run faster.

"Why didn't you tell us?" she called, her legs pumping. He gave a stunned sputtered.

"I assumed you were going to stop him _before _the comet! No one told _me_!"

She huffed. "Shut up and run, Sparky."

* * *

When they reached the Gaang, Katara and Suki stopped sparring because one of them walked away to yell some more at a certain prince.

"You-I wasn't finished talking to-" Katara said, starting to stalk toward him, but was stopped by Toph.

"Shut it, Sugar Queen. This is more important than your chit chat." At Katara's indignant cry, the earthbender pointed to Zuko.

"Tell them."

Arms crossed, he obeyed. When he finished, everyone was staring. All at once, the space erupted into chaos.

"Oh my Spirits-"

"Ya think?"

"This is NOT good-"

"But I'm not ready yet!"

Eventually, though, they all turned to "Why didn't you tell us, Zuko?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "If _I _had known before you would be relaxing your butts off, _you _would have known before."

Sokka rubbed his forehead, but stood up to take charge. "Yes, this is bad, the spirits know it is, and Aang-you're as ready as you ever will be. But now we need to move things up a bit." Everyone murmured in agreement. "Tomorrow, we'll do a mock war simulation and then we'll go round everyone up and tell them the plans have changed. As for today...spend it how you will. I'm going to get Hawky to deliver the message to whoever he can. Be ready tomorrow morning at dawn."

The teens grunted, strolling off as if they were all in a daze of some sorts. Aang went to meditate, Suki and Sokka went to detail the plan even further, and Toph went to punch some rocks. Katara caught Zuko's eye and gave him a look that he was still trying to figure out when she walked away.

* * *

**Well there you are. Review please? Suggestions, con crit, recipes, good music, anything is welcome. :D Peace.**


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